Singapore less popular with tourists last year

Singapore less popular with tourists last year

Even as international tourism grows in South-east Asia, Singapore has dropped in popularity as a destination.

According to preliminary data from the United Nations' (UN's) World Tourism Organisation, the country fell from No. 22 in 2011 to No. 25 last year in terms of international tourist arrivals by country of destination.

Meanwhile, other South-east Asian countries like Thailand and China held their respective spots, at No. 15 and No. 3 respectively. Hong Kong rose one spot to No. 12, while Malaysia fell one spot to No. 10 last year.

An advance copy of the World Tourism Barometer was released yesterday.

While visitor arrivals here have slowed, travel agents told My Paper more people here have been travelling out of Singapore in the first half of the year.

Ms Alicia Seah, CTC Travel's senior vice-president of marketing and public relations, said: "With more flights to various countries fuelled by full-service and low-cost carriers, and a strong Singapore dollar, demand increased by almost 30 per cent."

Popular regional destinations included Thailand, China, Taiwan and Hong Kong.

Ms Michelle Yin, marketing communications manager at Chan Brothers Travel, said that the firm had a 5 per cent increase in travellers out of Singapore in the first six months of the year, and they are spending an average of 15 per cent more.

"(Surveys have shown) that consumer-confidence levels in Singapore improved slightly in the first half of the year over the previous year...The local economy is also holding steady amid global uncertainties," she said.

~News courtesy of Channel Newsasia~

Slight haze may hit Singapore

Slight haze may hit Singapore

The number of hot spots in Sumatra, Indonesia, jumped to 225 yesterday from 86 on Saturday, said Singapore's National Environment Agency (NEA). There were 21 hot spots on Friday.

The agency added that dense smoke plumes were seen from some of the hot spots in central and southern Sumatra.

With dry-weather conditions in these areas expected to continue, NEA warned that Singapore "may experience occasional slight haze over the next few days".

On Tuesday afternoon, Singapore was affected by slight haze, with the three-hour Pollutant Standards Index (PSI) hitting 56 at 2pm.

A PSI reading below 50 means air quality is good, while one between 51 and 100 means it is moderate.

The number of hot spots on Tuesday was 29, although there might have been some that were undetected due to cloud cover. On Aug 16, the number of hot spots was 267.

Despite the rise in hot-spot numbers yesterday, NEA said that, based on the 24-hour PSI, air quality today until 6pm is expected to be in the good range.

~News courtesy of Omy~

S'pore Night Festival starts on Friday

S'pore Night Festival starts on Friday



The Singapore Night Festival returns this month with the largest ever arts and culture extravaganza.

The festival will be held on August 23-24 and August 30-31, from 7pm to 2am.

Festival-goers can look forward to an enthralling line-up of local and international art performances right in the heart of the city.

There will be an eclectic mix of aerial performances, art and light installations, roving acts and heritage-inspired programmes.

The event is the sixth and largest edition to date. It will stretch from Plaza Singapura to Raffles City.

On those four days, visitors will enjoy complimentary late night admission (7pm-2am) to the National Museum of Singapore, Singapore Art Museum and Peranakan Museum.

This year's festival also brings together over 40 partners from the Bras Basah-Bugis community to showcase the buzz, energy and vibrancy of Singapore's arts and heritage precinct.

This is more than twice the number in 2012.

Ms Angelita Teo, festival director and director of the National Museum of Singapore, National Heritage Board (NHB), said: "The Singapore Night Festival has grown to become a festival well-loved not just by Singaporeans, but also visitors to our shores.

"Months before, people had been asking for more information about the festival so we are very excited to present our largest festival, both in scale and content to all our local and foreign fans.

"For this, we have our partners of the Bras Basah-Bugis precinct to thank. All of your support has helped make the Singapore Night Festival an international event in its own right -- a fun, entertaining and show-stopping cultural display that we Singaporeans can be truly proud of."

~News courtesy of Channel Newsasia~

Asian Sponsorship Assn will help promote sports tourism

Asian Sponsorship Association will help promote sports tourism, say experts



The Singapore Sports Hub is expected to play host to major sporting events when it opens next year.

To drive growth of the sporting sector in the region, the Asian Sponsorship Association will be launched here in September to help corporates tap market opportunities.

Singapore is home to the Formula One night race and will host the season-ending Women's Tennis Association (WTA) Championships next year.

With the Sports Hub opening next year, hopes are high that more major sporting events may be held in Singapore.

Jean Ng, deputy director of F1 & Sports at the Singapore Tourism Board, said: "We definitely anticipate that with the Sports Hub opening, there will be an influx of innovative content that will deliver a very compelling experience for fans. And that is the kind of value that infrastructure in place is going to bring."

Last year, the government estimated that the Singapore Grand Prix generated about S$150 million in incremental tourism receipts per race for Singapore.

Experts say corporate sponsorship is key to attracting major sporting events to Singapore.

According to a PricewaterhouseCoopers report, sports sponsorship revenue in the Asia Pacific region is expected to grow 24 percent, from US$9.8 billion in 2010 to US$12.2 billion in 2015.

Andrew Giorgiou, CEO of World Sport Group, said: "The Asian sponsorship sector has come on really strong in the last five to six years. We are seeing a lot more major events, a lot major sponsorships in this part of the world.

"This part of the world is growing faster than other parts of the world. Brands from the Europe and US are looking to exploit that growth using sponsorship as a device to communicate with their audience."

Experts say the planned Asian Sponsorship Association will help promote growth of the sports industry by making corporate sponsorship more accessible to event organisers.

~News courtesy of Channel Newsasia~

S'pore is top Asian pick for China tourists

S'pore is top Asian pick for China tourists

Singapore has emerged as the holiday destination in Asia that tourists from China most want to visit in the next 12 months, edging out Hong Kong and Taiwan, according to a survey report released yesterday.

This could be due to Singapore's reputation as a safe country, as 43 per cent of respondents in the study by travel-booking site Hotels.com cited safety as the most important factor influencing their destination choice.

Other factors are the availability of historical and heritage sites (39 per cent) and whether the destination is "value-for-money" (30 per cent), said the report, titled The Chinese International Travel Monitor.

The report surveyed more than 3,000 Chinese travellers and more than 1,500 hoteliers around the world.

Worldwide, Singapore is the sixth destination that Chinese tourists want to visit the most in the next 12 months. The top five countries are Australia, France, New Zealand, the United States and Switzerland.

Singapore's popularity among Chinese travellers has not changed much from last year, when actual bookings on Hotels.com placed the country as the fifth most-popular destination, the report said.

China has become an increasingly important source market for tourism industries around the world, with Chinese tourists spending US$102 billion (S$130 billion) last year on overseas vacations.

Holidaymakers from the Asian giant overtook the US and Germany to become the largest source of tourists, as well as the biggest spenders on international travel, last year, according to figures from the United Nations World Tourism Organisation.

In the Hotels.com report, 75 per cent of hoteliers globally said Chinese travellers now account for up to 5 per cent of their business, and 45 per cent said they have experienced an increase in Chinese guests last year.

There has also been a change in the behaviour of Chinese tourists, the report noted. Nearly two thirds (62 per cent) polled said they want to travel independently, which corresponded with what the hoteliers surveyed have seen.

Other changes noted by Singapore hoteliers include Chinese travellers spending more money, speaking more English, and being less sensitive to price.

Just as countries around the world adapted to welcome Japanese tourists in decades past, the report saw a need to make shifts towards welcoming Chinese visitors by catering to their needs.

Chinese travellers surveyed said that hoteliers still lag in the ability to accept Chinese payment methods, as well as in the provision of information in Chinese, such as welcome literature, websites, TV programmes and newspapers.

Almost half (42 per cent) said that they would like more Mandarin-speaking staff in hotels.

"These insights...show the need for the global hotel industry to adapt facilities and services to more extensively cater to the world's largest market of travellers," said Mr Johan Svanstrom, managing director of Hotels.com Asia Pacific.

~News courtesy of omy~

Haze in Singapore due to Sumatra fires: NEA

Haze in Singapore due to Sumatra fires: NEA



Haze surrounding the Singapore Flyer and Singapore skyline at 12pm. (Photo: Richard Lim)

The skies over Singapore were slightly hazy on Tuesday.

The National Environment Agency (NEA) said the haziness was due to smoke from fires in southern Sumatra, brought over by the southwesterly winds overnight.

At 1pm, the 3-hour PSI hit the moderate range of 55, edging up to 56 at 2pm and 3pm before coming down to the good range.

At 7pm, the 3-hour PSI stood at 27.

The PSI reading in Singapore hit a record high of 401 on 21 June this year as a result of smog from forest fires in Indonesia.

However, the NEA website indicated the number of hotspots in Sumatra decreased from 82 on Monday to 29 on Tuesday.  

"However, due to extensive cloud cover in the central and northern regions of Sumatra, we cannot be certain of the exact situation. Nevertheless, recent showers over central and southern Sumatra would have helped to further subdue the hotspot activities there," said NEA.

It added that over the next few days, Singapore may experience slightly hazy conditions in the morning due to the accumulation of particulate matter under light wind conditions.

"The 24-hour PSI for the next 24 hours is expected to be in the higher end of the 'good' band (that is ≤50). The 24-hour PM2.5 is expected to be slightly elevated," said NEA. "All persons can continue with normal activities."

Thundery showers are forecast over Singapore in the late morning and early afternoon on Wednesday, it added.

~News courtesy of Channel Newsasia~

Airport's Jewel a must-visit attraction

Airport's Jewel a must-visit attraction



GRAND OASIS: Changi Airport's upcoming mixed-use development, codenamed Project Jewel, will boast an iconic glass-and-steel facade, a large-scale, lush indoor garden and a waterfall. (ARTIST'S IMPRESSION: CHANGI AIRPORT GROUP)

Changi Airport's upcoming mixed-use development will host aviation- and travel-related facilities, a wide range of retail offerings and unique leisure attractions for both visitors and Singaporeans.

Boasting an iconic glass-and-steel facade, a large-scale, lush indoor garden and a waterfall, the project - codenamed Project Jewel - will also serve as a node linking the three main terminals, to enhance connectivity and accessibility.

In a statement announcing its concept plans yesterday, Changi Airport Group (CAG) said it is working with shopping-mall developer CapitaMalls Asia on the concept and plans for the project.

The two parties are also exploring a partnership to develop and manage Project Jewel when it is completed.

Revealed by Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong in his National Day Rally speech on Sunday, the development will be built on the 3.5ha plot of land where the existing Terminal 1 carpark is.

The new complex, which is expected to be completed by 2018, will enable Changi Aiport to "capture tourism mindshare and boost Singapore's appeal strongly as a stopover point for global travellers", said the statement.

It will be designed by a team led by Israel-born architect Moshe Safdie, who was behind the design of the Marina Bay Sands integrated resort.

CAG's chief executive, Mr Lee Seow Hiang, said: "For tourists, we envisage Project Jewel as a must-visit Singapore attraction, located strategically at the doorstep of one of the world's busiest air hubs."

Terminal 1 will be expanded as part of the redevelopment, with more space for the arrival hall, baggage-claim areas and taxi bays.

The enhancements will increase the terminal's passenger-handling capacity to 24 million passengers annually, from the current 18 million.

There are also plans for a central communal facility for the 32,000-strong airport community to come together for joint activities, such as training.

Project Jewel joins the airport's other infrastructure projects, such as Terminal 4, which is in the final stages of planning. Its construction, at the former Budget Terminal site, is expected to begin by the year end.

When completed, Project Jewel, along with Terminal 4, will boost Changi Airport's capacity to 85 million passengers a year, up from the current 66 million.

~News courtesy of Omy~

Further plans to redevelop Changi Airport

Further plans to redevelop Changi Airport



Changi Airport Terminal 3 (photo: Francine Lim, channelnewsasia.com)

Passing on a better Singapore to future generations than what has been inherited, said Prime Minister Lee Hsieng Loong -- that is what the country will do as it continues to create more opportunities and build for the very long-term.

Among them are plans to further redevelop Changi Airport.

Changi Airport has been progressively upgraded since its humble beginnings in 1981.

Mr Lee said it has become part of the Singapore identity. It is also a symbol of renewal and change.

The airport came about after former Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew had the vision in the 1970s for the old RAF Changi Air Base to become an international airport, replacing Paya Lebar.

Today, Changi Airport is approaching its limits -- handling 51 million passengers in 2012. Capacity will be increased when Terminal 4 is ready by 2017.

Mr Lee said: "Kuala Lumpur International Airport -- they are planning to service 100 million passengers per year. Bangkok Suvarnabhumi is also aiming for 100 million passengers a year.

"Both of them are geographically better placed than Singapore to be the hub in Southeast Asia because from Europe to Southeast Asia to the far east -- whether its Hong Kong, Japan or China -- Kuala Lumpur is nearer and Bangkok is nearer still. But we are the hub. Why? Because they are not Changi Airport... That makes a difference!"

More will be done to ensure Singapore remains an international hub, like redeveloping the carpark at Terminal 1 into a 'Jewel'.

Mr Lee said: "'Project Jewel'... will expand Terminal 1. Terminal 1 will be connected with it as to with the other (terminals), but it will have shops, restaurants and a beautiful indoor garden. We have Gardens by the Bay, this one is Gardens at the Airport. Not just for visitors, but for Singaporeans too -- families on Sunday outings, students maybe studying for exams and newlyweds taking bridal photos."

By the mid-2020s, Mr Lee said Changi's current capacity will be doubled when Terminal 5 is ready.

Beyond that, there will be a new Republic of Singapore Air Force (RSAF) air base and fourth runway at Changi East. Paya Lebar Airbase will move to Changi, freeing up 800 hectares of land.

The area which is bigger than the size of Bishan can be used to build new homes, offices and factories. Mr Lee said relocating the air base also removes height restrictions on a large area around Paya Lebar. This will allow for new, exciting plans for eastern Singapore.

Singapore also wants to maintain its position as a leading world port. For this, there will be a new port in Tuas.

The container ports at Tanjong Pagar, Keppel, Brani and Pasir Panjang will move to Tuas when their leases expire from 2027 onwards. This will free up prime land for the building of a new Southern Waterfront City.

Mr Lee said these are ambitious long-term plans which will create possibilities and opportunities for the future.

He said: "These are not plans, these are acts of faith in Singapore and in ourselves. Faith that a generation from now, Singapore will still be here and will still be worth investing in for the sake of our children and their grandchildren. Faith -- that we can thrive in the world, whatever the challenges and hold our own against the competition -- bigger, stronger, but we are there."

That faith, Mr Lee said, was vividly expressed in the National Day Parade in the singing of the anthem, reciting the pledge, the radiant faces of participants, and the response of the crowds.

He said: "Watching them, feeling them, made me and my colleagues more determined to do the best for Singaporeans. They bolstered our conviction that it's worth doing and we can do it."

Mr Lee urged Singaporeans to work with the government to create a better future for all.

~News courtesy of Channel Newsasia~

Triple celebrations for pandas Kai Kai and Jia Jia

River Safari plans triple celebrations for pandas Kai Kai and Jia Jia



River Safari has planned a slew of activities to celebrate the birthdays of Kai Kai (above) and Jia Jia next month. -- ST FILE PHOTO

What is the perfect birthday present for a panda?

If you are Kai Kai or Jia Jia, it seems the answer is a big party.

Singapore's River Safari is planning a triple celebration for its two biggest celebrities - complete with a photography contest and furry mascots stationed at malls.

The giant pandas both have birthdays coming up next month and will soon mark the end of their first year in Singapore.

~News courtesy of Straits Times~

26 hotels recognised for their green initiatives

26 hotels recognised for their green initiatives

The green efforts of hotels in Singapore have paid off and 26 were recognized at the Singapore Green Hotel Award presentation ceremony on Wednesday.

Held for the third time since 2009, the awards ceremony at the Holiday Inn Singapore Atrium ballroom also saw the launch of the Singapore Green Hotel Award official logo.

Senior Minister of State, Prime Minister's Office, Mr Heng Chee How commended the hotels for their green initiatives. He highlighted the InterContinental Singapore for placing recycling bins in the hotel lobby and the Grand Hyatt Singapore for installing sub-water meters to track the kitchen's water usage.

The vice-president of the Singapore Hotel Association Mr Albert Teo offered advice to hotels on ways to raise awareness on eco-friendly practices. He encouraged hotels to consider adopting electronic employee scheduling solutions and housekeeping operations management systems. He said that this would enable hotels to go paperless and help improve productivity by optimizing existing manpower.

~News courtesy of Straits Times~

Happy national day!

Selamat Hari Raya

Remaining dragon kilns given new breath of life

Remaining dragon kilns in Singapore given new breath of life



The Thow Kwang dragon kiln at Lorong Tawas, off Jalan Bahar. Thow Kwang Industry and Focus Ceramic Services which were to operate till December 2014 and January 2015 respectively, will have new tenancies for an initial term of three years. -- ST FILE

Singapore's two remaining dragon kilns have been given a new breath of life after their tenancies were extended by the Government on Saturday.

Thow Kwang Industry and Focus Ceramic Services which were to operate till December 2014 and January 2015 respectively, will have new tenancies for an initial term of three years. This will be renewable for another two terms of three years each.

Both the Thow Kwang Industry and Focus Ceramic Services are located at 85 and 97L Lorong Tawas respectively. For the last 20 years, their fates were unclear as there are plans for an eco-friendly park in the area.

The National Heritage Board (NHB) which had assessed the heritage value of the two dragon kilns since May, had championed for the tenure extension.

~News courtesy of Channel Newsasia~

Plan journey for coming holiday weekend

Travellers advised to plan journey for coming holiday weekend



A general view of the causeway from Singapore to Johor Bahru. (AFP PHOTO/ROSLAN RAHMAN)

Traffic flow through the land checkpoints at Woodlands and Tuas is expected to be heavy with Hari Raya Puasa and National Day coming up next week.

Travellers intending to use the land checkpoints during the peak periods are advised to adjust their travel plans if possible.

The Immigration and Checkpoints Authority said motorists can play a part to ease congestion at the land checkpoints by maintaining lane discipline at all times.

Travellers can also call the traffic information hotline at 6863-0117, listen to TrafficWatch on the radio or visit LTA's One Motoring website to check the latest traffic conditions at the land checkpoints before embarking on their journeys.

~News courtesy of Channel Newsasia~