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The Singapore Tourism Board (STB) is attending World Travel Market (WTM), to showcase its 2008 landmark tourism projects and update the industry on its latest developments which are building on Singapore’s standing as a global city with buzz and vibrancy, brimming with diverse entertainment and lifestyle options.
In September 2008, subject to final safety approvals, Singapore will host the world’s first ever Formula One night race which will also be the first ever Formula One street race in Asia. The FIA gave the green light on Wednesday for Singapore to be the first country in the world to host the first night race in Formula One history.
Set against the backdrop of downtown Singapore, spectators will get a close-up view of the garden city as the circuit winds past historic landmarks such as the Singapore City Hall and The Fullerton Hotel, and modern buildings at Marina Bay, such as the Esplanade. Organisers are predicting the Formula 1 Singapore Grand Prix will be perhaps the most spectacular event in the history of the Grand Prix, and is expected to attract more than 80,000 spectators, of which up to 40 per cent will be visitors from all corners of the globe. Track action will be part of a whole package of entertainment and events which will make the GP an amazing two week-long festival of fun, high octane action across the island.
Opening in March 2008, the much anticipated Singapore Flyer will be Singapore’s most visible attraction offering visitors a breathtaking, unobstructed radial view stretching to 45km in circumference out over the South China Sea.
It will be the world’s highest observation wheel at 165 metres above ground, the height of a 42-storey building (by comparison the London Eye, is 135 metres above the ground). It will also offer an array of public facilities including a central atrium with a recreated Asian rainforest, outdoor amphitheatre, alfresco dining promenade running along the seafront, and offer high accessibility by train, bus, car and even boat.
Ms Divya Panickar Area Director for North and West Europe says: “2008 is a very exciting time for Singapore with visitors invited to take part in the spectacular Formula One™ Singapore Grand Prix in September – the first ever night race in Formula One™ history – as well as experience a selection of new luxury boutique hotels, bars, restaurants and attractions in the city. These exciting developments are a reflection of how the island-state is redefining itself into a vibrant, must-visit destination offering an array of world-class, unique and culturally-rich experiences.”
With record visitor arrivals expected for 2007, visitors to Singapore from the UK and Europe are a major contributing factor to Singapore’s continued success story.
Ms Panickar continued: “As Singapore accelerates the pace of its innovation, we are excited to be attending this year’s WTM to inform the travel industry of our current and future developments. At WTM it is essential that we strengthen and build our relationships with key operators as well as make new contacts in the emerging markets within Europe to further drive growth. We welcomed over 1.2 million visitors in 2006 from Europe, a record high and a significant increase of 7.5% over 2005 and 5.1% over 2004. This year we anticipate that the UK and European markets will once again out-perform their all time high, if our growth rate remains stable for the rest of the year.”
European visitor figures for January to August 2007 are up 6.2% year-on-year at more than 847,000 visitors. While UK visitors increased by 3.5% over the same period in 2006 with a record 333,000 visitors. Most other European markets are doing particularly well.
The Singapore Tourism Board (STB) set itself ambitious targets for 2007 – to achieve £4.5 billion in tourism receipts (TR) and attract 10.2 million visitor arrivals (VA). These targets are in line with achieving the STB’s long-term targets of £10.4 billion in tourism receipts (S$30 billion) by 2015. The Board is confident the visitor arrival targets will be met.
To catapult growth in visitor arrivals and to cater for consumers’ demands for new and unique experiences, Singapore is redefining itself as a vibrant global city resonating with energy and excitement. In the last year alone there has been an explosion of new hotels, bars, restaurants and spas and cultural attractions opening:
Hotels
The influx of new boutique and luxury hotels and resorts has continued this year with new offerings such as boutique hotels Naumi Hotel and The Link Hotel in Tiong Bahru. The Amara Sanctuary Resort Sentosa is a £20 million hill-top resort in the centre of Sentosa, Singapore’s premier island resort, which opened in September. Due to open in late 2007, the new boutique resort, with 125 rooms, will be built with the conservation of two colonial-era buildings. The St. Regis Singapore will also open in November 2007.
New Developments
Singapore’s new large-scale investments including the new developments in the Marina Bay area, including the Singapore Flyer and Gardens by the Bay, the two Integrated Resorts: The Marina Bay Sands™ and Resorts World at Sentosa, the rejuvenation of Orchard Road and the Sentosa harbourfront will help it to realise its tourism potential. Each will be critical in helping it to reach its aggressive Tourism 2015 tourism receipts target of £10.1 billion (S$30 billion).
Theodore is the Co-Founder and Managing Editor of TravelDailyNews Media Network; his responsibilities include business development and planning for TravelDailyNews long-term opportunities.
