Tourism in Singapore
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.
[15] 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.
[19] 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.
[25] Visitors coming into Singapore for short-term visits were also barred from entering and transiting from March 23, 2020 to October 19, 2021.
In February 2020, Indonesia raised its travel alert for Singapore to level yellow, urging Indonesian citizens to take extra precautions when they visit the city-state.
[24] On 16 September 2020, Trade and Industry Minister Chan Chun Sing has announced that all adult Singaporeans will get $100 tourism vouchers, accessible digitally via Singpass, to be used from December 2020 to June 2021.
The $320 million SingapoRediscovers Vouchers scheme is part of the government's effort to prop up the tourism sector, which has been decimated by travel restrictions amidst COVID-19 pandemic.
[citation needed] Other popular tourist attractions include the Singapore Zoo, River Wonders, Bird Paradise and Night Safari.
The tourist island of Sentosa, which attracted 19 million visitors in 2011, 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.
[citation needed] Singapore seeks to be the business hub of Southeast Asia and has an expansive shopping precinct located in the Orchard Road district.
Along with a beach-front resort, the island's tourist attractions include Fort Siloso, its historical museum, the SEA Aquarium, and Madame Tussauds Singapore.
[37] Other historical monuments include the Kranji War Memorial, Civilian War Memorial, Victoria Theatre and Concert Hall, Yueh Hai Ching Temple, Lian Shan Shuang Lin Monastery and Istana Kampong Glam.
[citation needed] Singapore has four major museums depicting the art and history of the country and of the region.
[citation needed] Historically, their fleet was made up of second-hand step-entrance double deckers in 2001–2004 for the City Sightseeing/Singapore Ducktours operation in Singapore, but new open-top buses were used beginning January 2006.
Electronic destination displays (which uses Mobitec MobiLED in larger font) were added in January 2006 to replace roller-blinds in stages.
As of 2023[update], Big Bus Tours has Volvo B9TL/Optare Visionaire or MCV DD103, Dennis Trident 2/East Lancs Lolyne, DAF DB250LF/Plaxton President and Ayats Integral buses, where they will progressively be replaced by Volvo BZL/MCV EvoSeti double decker buses as part of the Singapore Green Plan 2030.
Among the main attractions in the River Wonders is a pair of male and female giant pandas – Kai Kai (凯凯) and Jia Jia (嘉嘉)[43] – which are housed in a specially constructed climate-controlled enclosure which change throughout the four seasons emulating their original environment.
Its main attractions are the two conservatories, the Flower Dome, which replicates a mild, dry climate and features plants found in the Mediterranean and other semi-arid tropical regions,[47][48] and the Cloud Forest, which replicates the cool moist conditions found in tropical mountain regions between 1,000 metres (3,300 ft) and 3,000 metres (9,800 ft) above sea level, found in South-East Asia, Middle- and South America.
[52][53] Pulau Ubin, is an offshore island situated in the north-eastern island group, is one of the last rural areas to be found in Singapore, where the last of undeveloped kampongs (villages) and wooden jetties, abandoned quarries and plantations, with an abundance of natural flora and fauna.
[54] One of the more popular spots on the island is, Chek Jawa, a previous coral reef 5000 years ago, where several ecosystems can be observed in one area.
Chinese stalls may introduce Malay or Indian ingredients, cooking techniques or entire dishes into their range of catering.
The availability of variety of food is often aided by the fact Singapore's port lies along strategic routes.
Catherine Ling of CNN listed Fish soup bee hoon, Bak kut teh, Chilli crab, Nasi Padang, Hainanese chicken rice, and Kaya toast as some of the "40 Singapore foods we can't live without".
[58] The inaugural race, held on a new street circuit at Marina Bay, was the first night-time event in Formula One history.
