Singapore Tourism Board (STB) and Millennium Hotels and Resorts (MHR) have jointly launched Merlion on Vacation, a virtual adventure that enables players to explore Singapore in the metaverse, win prizes and enjoy a Merlion 50th Birthday themed room package at M Social Singapore.

Players will search for clues to locate the Merlion as he is teleported to Decentraland, a 3D virtual world platform, for a vacation to mark his 50th birthday. Singapore’s Merlion, located at Merlion Park, turned 50 on 15 September this year.

Apart from discovering M Social Decentraland – a virtual hotel with glass exteriors and neon pink accents – players can engage in mini-games featuring Singapore landmarks such as Orchard Road, Sungei Buloh, Gardens by the Bay, and Maxwell Food Centre. Those who complete the games will enter a raffle for the grand prize of a one-night-stay at M Social Singapore, as well as hotel and F&B vouchers and other merchandise.

M Social Singapore has also launched a Merlion 50th Birthday Package to mark the Singapore icon’s jubilee, allowing guests to experience Merlion-themed cocktail-mixing and perfume-making workshops.

The virtual adventure Merlion on Vacation builds on the opening of M Social Decentraland in May this year, which marked MHR as the world’s first hotel group to operate a hotel in the metaverse. M Social Decentraland occupies prime real estate in Decentraland as it is one tram stop from Genesis Plaza, the starting point for all visitors to the virtual platform.

“M Social Decentraland may be in the virtual world but the campaign is grounded in the reality of reaching new customers and generating new revenue sources with the metaverse as the platform. Our partnership with STB on the Merlion’s virtual vacation is one such example. By getting local and international guests to participate in this campaign, we are promoting Singapore and the M Social brand, while sweetening the pot with rewards for stays and dining that can be used at our physical hotel, M Social Singapore,” said Mr Saurabh Prakash, Group Senior Vice President, Commercial, Millennium Hotels and Resorts.

The world was introduced to the M Social brand in 2016, starting with M Social Singapore, and has since expanded with other physical outposts in Paris, New York and Auckland. M Social Decentraland marks the first virtual location in the metaverse. MHR plans to grow the brand in more physical locations including Suzhou, Phuket, London, Sunnyvale and key cities in the Middle East, with strong characters to capture diverse stories in vibrant and creative communities.

Guests and members of the public are invited to participate in the adventure to find the missing Merlion by playing games and winning prizes all in one place at the M Social Decentraland. Players are rewarded with 2,000 My Millennium points and dining and vacation vouchers amongst the myriad of different prizes.

To top it all off, a special Merlion 50th Birthday Package has also been launched with 15% off their stay at M Social Singapore and an additional bonus 2,000 My Millennium points. An extra S$50++ also gets one a special cocktail at the Beast & Butterflies restaurant, a Merlion cocktail making workshop and a Merlion perfume making workshop that comes with one bottle of perfume.

The Merlion 50th Birthday Package ends 31 December 2022.

Access to M Social Decentraland is free of charge. Visit msocial.com/merlion50 for more information.