Singapore expects to woo more visitors with new attractions

The city-state is constructing a cruise terminal to serve mainly international passenger liners and expects to complete it next year.
Melissa Ow, assistant chief executive officer of the Singapore Tourism Board (STB), said yesterday that the cruise business had been growing in Asia and would continue expanding in the future. The burgeoning middle class in China and other countries in the region will fill up the staterooms.
Singapore plans to open a new garden next year, followed by a river safari in 2013 and a sports hub in 2014. The venue for international sports and activities is in the Kallang area in the heart of the island.
“Over the last two years since two mega-projects – Resort World Sentosa and Marina Bay Sands – were opened, we achieved growth in arrivals, but still have to have more products for tourists,” she said.
Last year international visitors surged by 20 per cent to 11.9 million, contributing revenue of 19 billion Singapore dollars (Bt475 billion). Arrivals are expected to reach between 12 million and 13 million this year with income of S$22 billion to S$24 billion.
The top five sources are Indonesia, China, Malaysia, Australia and India. Thailand has been in the top 10 markets for years.
The STB’s office in Bangkok is working with tour operators across the country and major airlines to boost Thai visitors.
The STB predicts that Asia will remain the biggest market for Singapore tourism while Westerners are reluctant to travel because of the economic downturn.
The agency has launched special measures to rebuild business from Japan, which plunged after the tsunami disaster there in March.
Singapore and other countries in the region will gain a lot more business from intra-regional travel in the future particularly when the Asean Economic Community takes full shape in 2015, Ow said.
Singapore Airlines is planning to launch a budget airline called Scoot, aimed at bringing holidaymakers to the country at low prices.
Singapore offers more than 200 hotels with more than 49,000 rooms available for S$212 a night on average. The peak months for Singapore tourism are June during the school break in key markets and December, when many people want to celebrate Christmas and New Year. January is becoming another good month for vacationers.
The STB said Singapore was also received many meetings, incentives, conventions and exhibitions (MICE) delegates as well as sports and entertainment enthusiasts.
Some key events remaining in Singapore’s schedule this year are Food and Hotels Asia, the Singapore Air Show, Singapore International Water Week and the World City Summit.