*** For Singapore itinearies and pictures, visit traveljournal.com.ph.
Singapore said Wednesday a record 911,000 visitors went to the city-state in August, the highest ever for that month.
Last month's arrivals were 4.7 percent higher than last year and were fuelled in part by a record 114,000 visitors from China, surpassing the previous peak of 113,000 recorded in July 2006, the Singapore Tourism Board said.
"August is typically a peak travel month for visitors from China as it coincides with school summer holidays," it said.
Apart from China, arrivals from Indonesia, Australia, Japan and India also contributed to the record-breaking month, it said.
Hotels in the city-state enjoyed average room occupancy of almost 90 percent and earned nearly 160 million Singapore dollars (107 million US) in room revenues last month with average room rates of 198 dollars, the tourism board said.
Lacking natural attractions, Singapore has embarked on a major campaign to spruce up its tourist appeal.
It has plans for new attractions including two casino resorts, expected to open by 2010, and is trying to become an arts and entertainment centre.
It is to host its first Formula One Grand Prix event later next year.
This news is taken from Singapore Tourist.
Friday, September 28, 2007
Wednesday, September 19, 2007
There is a reason why Singapore outdoes Jakarta
-Mustaqim Adamrah
This article is taken from The Jakarta Post.
*** For Singapore pictures and itineraries, visit traveljournal.com.ph.
In Singapore it's quite normal for people, entire families, young and old, to wander the streets, ride a bus or stroll home from work late at night -- because, unlike Jakarta, the city state is a safe place to live and work.
With an area as large as Jakarta, Singapore is home to many ethnicities and nationalities and is relatively safe for tourists.
During a recent three-day visit to learn more of Singapore's tourism board, I noticed a distinct lack of police on the city's streets.
Only during one visit to a close-by neighborhood for common people in Mustafa did I notice a police car with male and female officers in it.
I thought perhaps Singaporeans did not need to be protected by police officers anymore, or perhaps it was Singapore itself that had become a safe haven for most people.
But what I believe to be true is that the law enforcement in Singapore is the real deal.
A Singaporean told me if you speed, you'll get a ticket. And Singaporean police do not deal with you directly.
If a vehicle hits someone crossing a pedestrian crossing, the driver will face prison.
If you cross a road while the light for pedestrians is still red, you will face fine.
If you litter, the next thing you will face is prison.
But despite these incredible contrasts, Singapore does have some similarities with Jakarta.
Our beloved Jakarta is, like Singapore, home to many embassies and expatriates, as well as families who have moved from Indonesia's regions to the capital.
But the similarities do not include security -- personal safety at night in Jakarta is always questionable.
Jakartans -- particularly women -- will not take the risk of being outside past midnight without a companion, lest they become a victim of sexual harassment or other criminal activities.
The city administration's fantasy is to shape Jakarta to something comparable with other Asian cities, including Singapore, Tokyo and Seoul.
Jakarta's administration also hopes to entice tourists to come here, although it seems to have forgotten one thing -- security, a principal thought for sensible holidaymakers.
Regardless of its nighttime scenery or how bedazzled holidaymakers may become by delightfully packaged tours, sensibility usually reigns supreme and tourists commonly withdraw their intention to visit the big durian, because Jakarta is unsafe.
Most people do not make a holiday trip to see a war scene, do they?
In addition, other countries continue to impose travel warnings for Indonesia, which see tourist numbers perpetually dwindle.
For example, the number of tourist arrivals in Jakarta slumped to the lowest point in 1999 to 981,183 as a result of political and financial crises.
Numbers are slowly rising and figures reached 1,235,514 in 2005.
The Indonesian government and its administration should have been able to work hand-in-hand to improve security, particularly in Jakarta.
And these bodies should also have developed the tourism sector and promoted Indonesia, or Jakarta in this case, more aggressively.
The government did promote Indonesian overseas several times by managing tourism exhibitions, for example, in China -- but figures suggest this project did not cement in people's minds how fabulous Indonesia is as a tourist destination.
Meanwhile, each region -- for instance Yogyakarta -- promotes itself as a tourism destination, without including Jakarta and without advertising the rest of the archipelago.
Singapore has a tourism office in Indonesia, but Indonesia does not have an office there. Clever Singapore knows Indonesia is a huge market for its tourism sector.
According to the Singapore Tourism Board, 1.9 million Indonesians made up 20 percent of the 9.7 million tourists that visited Singapore last year. And these tourists spent an average of S$800 (US$520) per person.
Singapore's tourism board says the number of Indonesian visitors to its city has increased between 2 and 4 percent annually over the last three years.
I believe more foreign tourists would come to Indonesia if only the administration, and of course the government, would develop the tourism sector and, most importantly, give tourists the assurance they will be safe on arrival and throughout their stay.
This article is taken from The Jakarta Post.
*** For Singapore pictures and itineraries, visit traveljournal.com.ph.
In Singapore it's quite normal for people, entire families, young and old, to wander the streets, ride a bus or stroll home from work late at night -- because, unlike Jakarta, the city state is a safe place to live and work.
With an area as large as Jakarta, Singapore is home to many ethnicities and nationalities and is relatively safe for tourists.
During a recent three-day visit to learn more of Singapore's tourism board, I noticed a distinct lack of police on the city's streets.
Only during one visit to a close-by neighborhood for common people in Mustafa did I notice a police car with male and female officers in it.
I thought perhaps Singaporeans did not need to be protected by police officers anymore, or perhaps it was Singapore itself that had become a safe haven for most people.
But what I believe to be true is that the law enforcement in Singapore is the real deal.
A Singaporean told me if you speed, you'll get a ticket. And Singaporean police do not deal with you directly.
If a vehicle hits someone crossing a pedestrian crossing, the driver will face prison.
If you cross a road while the light for pedestrians is still red, you will face fine.
If you litter, the next thing you will face is prison.
But despite these incredible contrasts, Singapore does have some similarities with Jakarta.
Our beloved Jakarta is, like Singapore, home to many embassies and expatriates, as well as families who have moved from Indonesia's regions to the capital.
But the similarities do not include security -- personal safety at night in Jakarta is always questionable.
Jakartans -- particularly women -- will not take the risk of being outside past midnight without a companion, lest they become a victim of sexual harassment or other criminal activities.
The city administration's fantasy is to shape Jakarta to something comparable with other Asian cities, including Singapore, Tokyo and Seoul.
Jakarta's administration also hopes to entice tourists to come here, although it seems to have forgotten one thing -- security, a principal thought for sensible holidaymakers.
Regardless of its nighttime scenery or how bedazzled holidaymakers may become by delightfully packaged tours, sensibility usually reigns supreme and tourists commonly withdraw their intention to visit the big durian, because Jakarta is unsafe.
Most people do not make a holiday trip to see a war scene, do they?
In addition, other countries continue to impose travel warnings for Indonesia, which see tourist numbers perpetually dwindle.
For example, the number of tourist arrivals in Jakarta slumped to the lowest point in 1999 to 981,183 as a result of political and financial crises.
Numbers are slowly rising and figures reached 1,235,514 in 2005.
The Indonesian government and its administration should have been able to work hand-in-hand to improve security, particularly in Jakarta.
And these bodies should also have developed the tourism sector and promoted Indonesia, or Jakarta in this case, more aggressively.
The government did promote Indonesian overseas several times by managing tourism exhibitions, for example, in China -- but figures suggest this project did not cement in people's minds how fabulous Indonesia is as a tourist destination.
Meanwhile, each region -- for instance Yogyakarta -- promotes itself as a tourism destination, without including Jakarta and without advertising the rest of the archipelago.
Singapore has a tourism office in Indonesia, but Indonesia does not have an office there. Clever Singapore knows Indonesia is a huge market for its tourism sector.
According to the Singapore Tourism Board, 1.9 million Indonesians made up 20 percent of the 9.7 million tourists that visited Singapore last year. And these tourists spent an average of S$800 (US$520) per person.
Singapore's tourism board says the number of Indonesian visitors to its city has increased between 2 and 4 percent annually over the last three years.
I believe more foreign tourists would come to Indonesia if only the administration, and of course the government, would develop the tourism sector and, most importantly, give tourists the assurance they will be safe on arrival and throughout their stay.
Friday, September 7, 2007
Singapore breaks ground for Formula One building
*** For Singapore pictures and itineraries, visit www.traveljournal.com.ph.
SINGAPORE, Aug 31 (Reuters) - Singapore broke ground on Friday for a Formula One building that will host what is set to be the world's first street grand prix to be held at night.
The Southeast Asian city-state won a five-year deal in May to host a street grand prix in the heart of its business district with the first race scheduled for Sept. 28, 2008.
The planned building -- currently an undeveloped muddy field surrounded by trees and a highway -- would house 36 garages for 12 grand prix teams, the Singapore Tourism Board said.
Singapore, which wants to woo more tourists to the country to boost its services sector, is building a string of tourist attractions, including a casino and the world's largest Ferris wheel in its business district.
"We look forward to the sound of race engines roaring to life," Lim Hng Kiang, Singapore's trade minister said at the ground breaking ceremony, before sticking a gold-coloured shovel in a sand box to mark the occasion.
Lim said he was confident that Singapore could stage a night race as planned, although that was subjected to the approval of the FIA, the international governing body for motorsports.
Several F1 drivers have spoken against the idea of a night race, citing safety concerns such as poor visibility, especially during rainy weather.
News taken from: Singapore breaks ground for Formula One building
SINGAPORE, Aug 31 (Reuters) - Singapore broke ground on Friday for a Formula One building that will host what is set to be the world's first street grand prix to be held at night.
The Southeast Asian city-state won a five-year deal in May to host a street grand prix in the heart of its business district with the first race scheduled for Sept. 28, 2008.
The planned building -- currently an undeveloped muddy field surrounded by trees and a highway -- would house 36 garages for 12 grand prix teams, the Singapore Tourism Board said.
Singapore, which wants to woo more tourists to the country to boost its services sector, is building a string of tourist attractions, including a casino and the world's largest Ferris wheel in its business district.
"We look forward to the sound of race engines roaring to life," Lim Hng Kiang, Singapore's trade minister said at the ground breaking ceremony, before sticking a gold-coloured shovel in a sand box to mark the occasion.
Lim said he was confident that Singapore could stage a night race as planned, although that was subjected to the approval of the FIA, the international governing body for motorsports.
Several F1 drivers have spoken against the idea of a night race, citing safety concerns such as poor visibility, especially during rainy weather.
News taken from: Singapore breaks ground for Formula One building
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