New reasons to visit Singapore

By Melissa Perera

Singapore Airlines together with Aitken Spence and other renowned travel agents met at the Taj recently to introduce more of Singapore’s attractions to tourists.

The meeting was mainly based on improving and increasing the infrastructure facilities of the packages currently being provided by Singapore Airlines and to introduce much more attractive sites of the country in order to bring in more tourists to Singapore.

The meeting began with a slight description of the history of Singapore. Ever since declaring independence in 1965, Singapore has come a long way from her humble beginnings of a sleepy fishing village, to a modern and colourful city visited by millions from around the world.

One of the most valued and unique things about the country is her multiracial, multicultural society. There are four main races in the country: Chinese, Malay, Indian, and Eurasian, together with a large expatriate population from the world over.

A description of the airlines was then given by a representative of Singapore Airlines. He briefed the congregation about the new Airbus, the A330 which was introduced to the airline on 28 October. He also proudly stated that the award winning flight entertainment is in none other than the economy class of Singapore Airlines. The business class is being introduced with an ‘in seat power’ facility that would help you do your work even in the skies above.

There are many product offerings, of which the main highlight was on the ‘Singapore Stopover Holiday’s, a safe and economical package that brings you the value of a package of S$ 232 for just S$ 54 per day. Free attractions were introduced such as the Singapore Flyer, original Singapore walks, Sentosa Island, Tiger Sky Tower, the one-way cable car ride, and other attractions as well.

The SIA Hop-over Bus is a tourist airbus that lets you hop and stop at any destination with an unlimited number of rides. The organisation also focused on the ‘Changi Dollar Voucher’ offer, a transit program which started on 28 October and will continue till stocks last. There are so many benefits of this offer – from a free shower to a Wi-Fi area. It can be redeemed at any service food centre or retail outlet at the airport.

The Area Director of the South Asia Tourist Board of Singapore G.B. Sridhar was introduced by the General Manager of Singapore Airlines Alwen Arumugam to brief the media about the organisation, its new packages and so on. He started off his presentation by wishing everyone a happy Diwali. He mentioned three main reasons for his visit, and this meeting: to re-engage with the SIA regional office in Sri Lanka and related tourism associations, to re-introduce Singapore and to rethink of ways to market Singapore.

Compared to the last couple of years, Singapore has had an increase of 80% in the number of global tourists visiting Singapore, most of which came from Indonesia, China, Malaysia and Australia. The average number of arrivals of Sri Lankan tourists to Singapore per year is 70,000, with 36 flights transiting the country per week.

Singapore’s integrated resorts, Marina Bay Sands and Resorts World Sentosa, enliven the local leisure scene with their host of celebrity chef restaurants, luxury hotels and amusement parks. An unforgettable experience awaits you whenever you choose to visit, be it to the city’s nightlife haunts, thriving hawker centres or fascinating historical venues. Enjoy the greenery at the nature reserves, and shop in iconic malls that cater to every taste and budget.  

Exciting Formula One night races, international sporting events, world-class theatrical performances leading artists, a vibrant local arts community, festive celebrations and especially its culture, history, arts and entertainment, a wide range of food, festivals, wellness and beauty, garden city, cruises and shopping all come together give tourists the ultimate experience.

The main tourist attractions include the Marina Bay Sands and the infinity pool, the Singapore cable car, Sentosa Island, Jurong bird park, the MINT museum of toys, the Singapore Flyer, the Marina Bay golf course, the Maritime Experiential Museum, Hippo river cruise, Chinatown Heritage Centre and the original Singapore walks

Sridhar introduced some new tourist sites which include the world’s largest oceanarium which will be opened by the first week of December, and the ‘Marine Life Park,’ Asia’s first river themed park, that will bring out the extremes of nature, giving you an experience of a river safari, which will be opened by early 2013. Furthermore, an international cruise terminal will be opened to Costa Victoria from Singapore.

An open invitation was given by Sridhar to come and re-visit Singapore. The purpose of getting together was to focus on global tourists that would visit and re-visit Singapore. The Christmas package being introduced this year is ‘Christmas in the Tropics.’ Visit Singapore and experience more holidays in one. For more details visit www.yoursingapore.com.