According to the results of the Singapore Customer Satisfaction Index compiled by the Institute of Service Excellence (ISES) at SMU for the third quarter and released last month, the tourism sector scored a high of 74.5 points – a significant improvement from 70 points last year. The score for the hotels sub-sector improved from 70.1 points last year to 77.5 points this year. However, locals were found to be less satisfied compared with tourists, who gave the tourism sector a score of 80.1 points, while the score from locals was 71.5 points. ISES Academic Director Assistant Professor Marcus Lee said of the results: “While tourist satisfaction has improved year-on-year, businesses should strive to keep up with the ever-evolving expectations of their target customers, regardless [of] whether they are residents or overseas visitors.”