STB series of events to mark 50 years of tourism in Singapore

SINGAPORE: To commemorate 50 years of tourism development and promotion in Singapore, the Singapore Tourism Board (STB) has lined up a series of events and activities which will be run in three phases – “Reminisce”, “Rediscover” and “Celebrate”.

The first wave of Tourism50 initiatives – “Reminisce” — will take local residents on a walk down memory lane.

Some old attractions will be featured and the STB hopes its events will help to raise awareness and appreciation of those places.

One such event is a series of free guided Haw Par Villa tours and talks, curated and conducted by local heritage tour specialist Journeys. It will take place over two weekends in March 15, 16, 22 and 23.

When these tours end, a series of art projects curated by local art group LATENT SPACES will be on showcase at Haw Par Villa from April to October to enliven the park and encourage the public to continue visiting it.

There will also be free heritage coach tours on March 29 and 30. The tours, in conjunction with Tourism50 and International Tourist Guides Day, will be conducted by volunteer tourist guides.

The coach tours will cover landmarks such as the Singapore River, the Gan Heritage Centre at Bukit Pasoh, Thendayuthapani Temple at Tank Road and Jamae Mosque at South Bridge Road.

The “Rediscover” phase will feature unique experiences designed by local tourism enterprises from various sectors, and will run from April to October.

The “Celebrate” phase will showcase festive light-ups and various events, and set the mood for Singapore’s 50th birthday celebrations next year.

The STB hopes the events will help to raise awareness and appreciation of these local attractions.

Lionel Yeo, chief executive of the STB, said: “Residents, who in the recent years have not had a chance to visit these attractions… I think it is an opportunity to invite them to go there and I guess bring their families and friends, and rediscover their memories there and maybe share those memories with their loved ones.”

Geraldene Lowe-Ismail, a pioneer tourist guide, shared similar sentiments. She said: “For the oldies like me, these are the things we remember from long ago. Singapore has changed so much.

“The young can also experience, go along with the oldies, hold your grandma’s hands and get her to talk about the stories of the old days. This is really what brings everything to life.

“This is what I try to do with my tours — how things were in the old days and how so much is the same but changed. Especially for Singaporeans, when life is changing so much.”

Regarding the challenges that Singapore faces as a tourist destination, Mr Yeo said that it was about delivering value to visitors so that they will revisit the city.

He said: “Our challenge is how do we make sure that we deliver value. And that is at the end of the day going to be what determines if someone is going to have a good experience, and come back to Singapore.

“If you look at the hotel industry for example, the fact that you can still have fairly healthy, very healthy I would say, occupancy rates even though our room rates are higher relative to some other Asian cities — I think it has proved that we are delivering value.”

More details for the “Rediscover” and “Celebrate” phases will be made known at a later date.

STB series of events to mark 50 years of tourism in Singapore