The Southeast Asian island is also creating clusters of attractions similar to the Walt Disney World Resort in Orlando, Florida, to lengthen the stay of visitors and encourage them to spend more, according to S. Iswaran, who's responsible for developing the tourism industry as Singapore's second trade minister.
The city, home to an Asian leg of the Formula One series, posted its first decline in visitor arrivals since the global financial crisis as political turmoil in Thailand, aviation disasters and a slowdown in Chinese tourists damped travel in the region last year. The island is counting on events, including the Women's Tennis Association tournament, to transform it into a standalone destination rather than an itinerary item on regional travel packages.
"It's not our intention that we want to attract all the sort of low-cost, three cities in three days or two days kind of thing," Mr Iswaran said in an interview on Tuesday. "People are valuing the experience in a place like Singapore in its own right, which is a good thing."Singapore plans to move its 44-year-old Jurong Bird Park next to its zoo, Night Safari and River Safari in the North and add more attractions to the area, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said in a Facebook post this month. The project will be carried out by the Singapore Tourism Board and state investment firm Temasek Holdings Pte, he said.
Edit : http://www.bangkokpost.com/news/asia/483605/big-events-spur-singapore-tourism
