As part of its campaign to promote travel insurance, the Singapore Tourism Board (STB) released a video featuring a humorously redubbed scene of Zoe Tay from hit 90s drama The Unbeatables.
In the video, a young Tay is upset that her trip got cancelled, while Zhu Houren enumerates to her the various risks travel insurance covers – such as travel agent insolvency, injuries, food poisoning, and diarrhoea.
Extremely regretful that she did not buy travel insurance, Tay slaps the papers out of Zhu’s hands and screams at him: “Stop it lah! Next time I buy ok?” before leaving in tears. The video ends with the tag line: “Why gamble with your holiday?” referencing the drama’s plot that focused on gambling.
The funny video is part of STB's “Don't Travel Blur, Travel Sure” campaign, which includes a “blur sotong” squid mascot, reported the Straits Times. It was launched to promote travel insurance to the public, following recent unexpected closures of travel agencies, including those of Konsortium Express and Tours and Misa Travel.
According to a survey conducted by STB, one in 10 people have never purchased travel insurance for their trips. This was despite 97% of respondents saying they were aware of travel insurance. Respondents said that short trip duration (38%) and “low-risk” destinations (28%) were the main reasons they did not buy travel insurance.
"We want to encourage Singaporeans to be more vigilant with their travel purchases, even for trips that are short or perceived to be of 'low-risk'," said Ong Ling Lee, director of travel agents and tourist guides at STB.
“By using an iconic local drama serial from the ‘90s and introducing a catchy message and relatable mascot, we hope to engage travellers of all ages and remind them of the importance of safeguarding themselves against unexpected situations.”
