Singapore Extravaganza

As of 2019, there were 19.1 million international tourists visiting Singapore, which was more than three times the country’s total population.^[1] It also claims to be environmentally friendly, and maintains natural and heritage conservation programs. Along with this, it also has one of the world’s lowest crime rates. As English is the dominant one of its four 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. Singapore is the 5th most visited city in the world, and 2nd in Asia-Pacific.^[2]

The Travel and Tourism Competitiveness Report 2017 ranks Singapore 13th out of 136 countries overall, which was the third best in Asia only behind Japan (ranked 4th) and Hong Kong (ranked 11th). The report ranks Singapore’s business environment, international openness, also travel and tourism policy and enabling conditions as the best in the world (ranked 1st). However, the island nation scored rather low in natural and cultural resources sub-index (ranked 40th).

In January 1964, the Singapore Tourism Board (then known as Singapore Tourist Promotion Board), was set up to market Singapore, then a British colony, as a destination for tourists, to develop and to regulate the tourism industry.^[5][6][7] The Government of Singapore had aimed to create more jobs, income and to facilitate trade within Singapore, through the development of the tourism industry.^[8] Throughout the 1960s to 70s, the tourism board ran multiple advertising campaigns aimed at drawing visitors from different countries and published monthly newsletters to promote multiple attractions in Singapore.^[9][10] The Merlion was also created as the Singapore Tourism Board’s logo in 1964 and was used in promotional materials. ^[11] The Merlion eventually became a well-known Singaporean icon and in 1972, a Merlion statue was erected in the Merlion Park.^[12] In 1977, there was a record of 1.5 million visitors to the country and tourist receipts were estimated to be S$628 million as compared to 522,000 visitors and S$269 million in tourist expenditure in 1970.^[13]

Throughout the 1980s to 1990s, the tourism board aimed to market the culture of Singapore to visitors through the renewal of infrastructure in historical areas such as Chinatown and development of new venues for hosting concerts and conventions.^[14][15] In 2005, the government of Singapore announced the development of 2 integrated resorts in Marina South and Sentosa.^[16] Plans to develop Gardens by the Bay were also announced in that same year.^[17] The resorts were part of plans to boost the tourism industry which had been facing intense competition from other destinations around the region, particularly from nearby Bangkok and Hong Kong, which has since also considered legalisation of casinos in the wake of initiatives in Singapore.^[18] Marina Bay Sands was officially opened on 23 June 2010,^[19] while Gardens by the Bay opened on June 29, 2012^[20] and Resorts World Sentosa was officially opened on December 7, 2012