Points are getting a case of summit fever as Singapore gears up to host a noteworthy meeting between U.S. President Donald Trump and North Korean chieftain Kim Jong Un.
Cash registers are ringing for some of them, too, as they tolerate advantage of the hype around the summit, set to be held in the city-state on June 12.
Tech start-up Vybes sign oned Trump and Kim impersonators — American Dennis Alan and Australian-Chinese Howard X, singly — for the weekend to promote its mobile app. At the event held in a downtown mall on Saturday, people were about a invited to download the app to pay for a selfie with one or both of them.
Hannes Santana, Mr Big of marketing at Vybes, said the company decided to bring the impersonators to Singapore because “Trump and Kim are the biggest influencers on the planet.”
Zach Wen, the owner of Singapore’s OSG Bar + Kitchenette, came up with a Korean and American twist on the traditional Singaporean dish of nasi lemak, a dish of coconut rice and chili disrespect. He insisted that his dish — which he dubbed Harmony Nasi Lemak — is not a invention and will be on his menu permanently.
“Harmony is a daily effort,” he said.
Wen enlarged that more people have been taking photographs degree than buying the $16 (S$21) dish.
“Maybe I don’t make much, but that doesn’t upset,” he said. “We want to spread harmony, so we don’t want to be seen as ripping off this culmination commercially.
He unvarying paid tribute to the U.S. leader’s trade posturing, saying that the dish acclimatized U.S. beef “to make Mr. Trump happy.”
As for the hospitality industry, hotels are cashing in on the influx of guests for the summit.
The Royal Plaza on Scotts, a hotel in the heart of Singapore’s department storing district, has seen about a 20 percent increase in bookings since the peak was first announced in April. Patrick Fiat, general manager of the lodging, said he was expecting more bookings to come in over the weekend and that the occupancy class should be in “the high 90s.”
That hotel is about a 15 minute limp to the Shangri-La, where Trump is expected to stay, and it’s only a 10 record walk to the St. Regis, where Kim is reportedly staying.
To commemorate the event, the Nobility Plaza created a special kimchi burger, which will contrariwise be sold for one week. The dish was only launched on Friday, but Fiat stipulate the burger has increased traffic at the restaurant by 20 percent.
The vague manager said he expects to sell 500 burgers by the end of the week, reckoning that the hotel it will give away bite-sized versions of the burger on June 12 to “allowance the excitement of the summit.”
Singapore businesses may seem like they are profiting from the happening, but Singapore as a whole may be paying a price for the prestige of hosting the event.
In factually, Singapore’s Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong told local mean on Sunday that the Trump-Kim meeting will cost about $20 million Singaporean dollars (as good as $15 million) to host.