Tourism in Singapore

Tourism in Singapore

Tourism in Singapore is a major industry and attracts millions of tourists each year. A lot of its cultural attraction can be attributed to its cultural diversity that reflects its colonial history and Chinese, Malay, Indian and Arab ethnicities. It is also environmentally friendly, and maintains natural and heritage conservation programs. As English is one of its numerous official languages, it is generally easier for tourists to understand when speaking to the local population of the country, for example, when shopping. Transport in Singapore exhaustively covers most, if not all public venues in Singapore, which increases convenience for tourists. This includes the well-known Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) system.

The Orchard Road district, which is dominated by multi-story shopping centres and hotels, can be considered the center of tourism in Singapore. Other popular tourist attractions include the Singapore Zoo and its Night Safari, which allows people to explore Asian, African and American habitats at night without any visible barriers between guests and the wild animals. The Singapore Zoo has embraced the 'open zoo' concept whereby animals are kept in enclosures, separated from visitors by hidden dry or wet moats, instead of caging the animals.

Jurong Bird Park is another zoological garden centred around birds, which is dedicated towards exposing the public to as much species and varieties of birds from around the world as possible, including a flock of one thousand flamingos.

Singapore flyer (Click on image to enlarge)

The Singapore Flyer is a giant Ferris wheel in Singapore. Reaching 42 stories high, it is currently the largest Ferris wheel in the world, with a total height of 165 m (541 ft). This exceeds the Star of Nanchang by 5 m (16 ft) and the London Eye by 30 m (98 ft).

Located on the southeast tip of the Marina Centre reclaimed land, it comprises a 150 m (492 ft) diameter wheel, built over a three-story terminal building which houses shops, bars and restaurants, and offers broad views of the city centre and beyond to about 45 km (28 mi), including the Indonesian islands of Batam and Bintan, as well as Johor, Malaysia.

The final capsule was installed on 2 October 2007, the wheel started rotating on February 11, 2008 and it officially opened to the public on March 1, 2008. Tickets for rides on the first 3 nights were sold out for S$ 8,888 Singapore dollars (US$6,271)(£3,150.83GBP), an auspicious number in Chinese culture. The grand opening for the Flyer was held on 15 April 2008.

Each of the 28 air-conditioned capsules is capable of holding 28 passengers, and a complete rotation of the wheel takes approximately 30 minutes. Initially rotating in an counter-clockwise direction when viewed from Marina Centre, its direction was changed on 4 August 2008 under the advice of Feng shui masters.

The tourist island of Sentosa, which attracts more than 5 million visitors a year, is located in the south of Singapore, consists of about 20-30 landmarks, such as Fort Siloso, which was built as a fortress to defend against the Japanese during World War II. Guns from the World War II era can be seen at Fort Siloso, from a mini-sized to a 16 pound (7 kg) gun. Recently, the island has built the Carlsberg Sky Tower, which allows visitors to view the whole of Sentosa, which is identical to the one in Malacca, Malaysia. The Sentosa Luge, a small one- or two-person sled on which one sleighs supine and feet-first. Steering is done by shifting the weight or pulling straps attached to the sled's runners.

Singapore will have two integrated resorts with casinos in 2010, one at Marina Bay and the other at Sentosa which the government announced during a parliament session on April 18, 2005.

-Information courtesy of wikipedia, accurate as of publishing date-