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Gabrielle Gwee

ENGW 1111

March 13, 2022

How Singapore Stormed the Tourism Industry

Singapore, also known as ‘The Garden City,’ is a city-country located in the heart of

Southeast Asia (“Garden City”). With globally renowned heritage sites, shopping centres, and

high-rise skyscrapers that line the city skyline, a modern futuristic feel rushes through the

country. The reveal of ION Orchard in 2009 was prominent to many Singaporeans; it was one

of the first buildings where most of the exterior was covered in glass to illuminate the sun’s

presence and stands as the nation’s first monocoque façade with a canopy shelter that soon

becomes a distinct feature in the architecture history. The exterior was inspired by

Singapore’s location in the world, in the middle of the tropics summer weather year-round.

Crowds of adults and children gathered to unveil the new shopping mall that marked a new

era of futuristic architecture that began Singapore’s drive to make its mark in the world. All

the other buildings along Orchard Road did not compare to the beauty and elegance of ION.

The same rectangular buildings lined Orchard Road, with the only disparity being their

colour. In addition to the exterior, the interior holds many international stores, most of them

first opening and making a mark in Asia by opening in Singapore. What made this little

country at the edge of the Malay Peninsula so special that attracts tourists from all over the

world exponentially?
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Image of ION Orchard from the exterior

Since from the 1990s, Singapore was driven to be more than just a small city in Asia.

Founded in 1965, the country has made significant progress since the 2000s to put itself out

on the map as the little red dot (Nurjuwita). Most of the construction done in the twenty first

century is based off a futuristic style: covering the exterior of buildings head to toe in glass

panels (Nurjuwita). Designed to look like the nation’s national fruit, the Esplanade opened in

2002, signifying the first futuristic architecture in Singapore that was built in the 2000s.

Singapore also took advantage of new technological advances in construction, one being

reclaimed land. In five decades, Singapore increased its land mass by 23% (Riebling). The

reclaimed land has been beneficial for various projects that helped Singapore to stand out.

Driven by tourism, the Singapore Tourism Board (STB) was founded in 1964 as an

incentive to make this country a tourist destination (Overview). As of June 2020, the expat

population that lives in Singapore stood at 1.64 million people, which is around 30% of the

total population (Population in brief 2020). According to Statista, in 2011 the number of

tourists that visited Singapore was 13.17 million. In 2019, the number of tourists hit a record

number of 19.11 million (Statista). A main tactic the tourism board used to attract tourists

from all over the globe is by marketing Singapore as a country with many people from

around the world that allow the food, culture and experiences to be diverse and unique. Kevin
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is a Singaporean citizen who has lived there for most of his life, has noticed throughout the

years that the number of cuisines has expanded within the last couple decades, which have

made the dishes “more authentic and enjoyable.” Having diverse food options that are

authentic is essential for a country to attract tourists and allow residents to enjoy it as well.

The Singapore Flyer, Art Science Museum, and Marina Bay Sands (left to right)

In the early 2000s, Singapore navigated itself through a SARS outbreak from 2002 to

2004, as well as the Global Financial Crisis from 2008 to 2009. This was also a period where

Singapore experienced major increases in new tourism projects: the Formula One Marina Bay

Street Circuit that opened in 2008 for the first night-time race in Formula One history and

Resorts World Sentosa, an integrated resort that features the second international Universal

Studios, a waterpark, and the world’s second largest oceanarium with the largest acrylic

viewing panel that houses more than 100,000 marine animals (S.E.A. Aquarium). These two

projects were strategically placed in different parts of the city to allow the modernised

architecture to not be all clumped in one area. In 2010, Marina Bay Sands opened on

reclaimed land next to the Central Business District (CBD). Andrew David Fassam, senior
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director of the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA), noticed that the CBD was only being

used five days a week from nine to five. By adding Marina Bay Sands, this created a “mix

use precinct that the activities carry on 24/7” (Riebling). Gardens by the Bay is another

project that was built completely on reclaimed land that features two domes built to house

plants from all over the world with exteriors completely made from glass panels. The Flower

Dome and Cloud Forest both follow and add on to the modernised futuristic architecture of

Singapore and is a form of sustainable tourism by enhancing greenery in the city. Each of

these buildings have been built with a purpose to follow a futuristic architecture, and to

simultaneously attract tourism.

Vivian moved to Singapore after marrying her husband in the 1990s and describes

Singapore’s effort in the tourism industry as a “benefit for Singaporeans and tourists.” In

2018, the country noted around 18.5 million tourists throughout the year (Statista). This was

the year that Crazy Rich Asians made its debut as a predominantly Asian, specifically

ethnically Chinese, directed, casted and produced Hollywood movie. This movie shined a

light on the Asian culture as majority of the films in Hollywood are predominately white

actors. As the movie was screened across the world, K-pop group BTS reached Billboard

No.1, the sales of Korean beauty products tripled in sales, and Uniqlo, a Japanese casual

retailer, signed Roger Federer as a brand representative (Ho). Crazy Rich Asians featured all

of Singapore’s popular futuristic architecture, which enticed more tourism to enter the

country.

The futuristic feel with the usage of glass doors gave an edge to Singapore as the 21st

century progresses. Due to the current pandemic, the total population of Singapore has

decreased by 4.1% from June 2020 to June 2021 which signifies the impact of the pandemic

(Population in Brief 2020). In addition, the tourism industry has hit a halt as the government

implemented strict rules to contain the spread of the virus. The number of tourists only
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reached a high of 2.74 million in 2020, which has been the lowest in four decades (Statista).

Since then, the tourism sector has turned towards entertaining Singaporeans by adhering to

the government guidelines to still allow the population to enjoy some experiences. Kevin

points out that “the tourism industry has been maintained pretty well,” implying that this

industry has received a considerable amount of government aid over the past two years. In

another perspective, Merlyn comments on the crowds in Singapore. The benefit of the

pandemic for her would be “seeing less tourists” on popular hotspots such as Orchard Road

and Sentosa. This was important to her as since the country is already overpopulated, the

decrease in tourists visiting the country has decreased waiting lines everywhere.

Singapore has slowly begun to welcome tourists back into the country through

Vaccinate Travel Lanes (VTLs), a flight with no quarantine with a certified vaccination

status, in early September 2021 as a progressive marker during the pandemic. Singapore is

taking a step in the right direction in upholding the tourism industry by allowing the locals

and residents to take advantage of the sites, as well as implementing travel lanes that monitor

the virus whilst still letting people travel. As tourism slowly increases in the city again, the

futuristic architectural buildings will be waiting for them.

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Works cited

“Achieving Quality Tourism.” Singapore Tourism Board,

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Chung, Vivian. Personal Interview. Conducted by Gabrielle Gwee. March 7, 2022.

Ee, Merlyn. Personal Interview. Conducted by Gabrielle Gwee. March 7, 2022.

“‘Garden City’ Vision Is Introduced - 11th May 1967.” History SG, National Library Board,
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Gwee, Kevin. Personal Interview. Conducted by Gabrielle Gwee. March 7, 2022.

Hirschmann, R. “Number of International Visitor Arrivals in Singapore from 2011 to 2020

(in Millions).” Statista, STB, 9 Mar. 2021,
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Ho, Karen K. “Crazy Rich Asians Is Going to Change Hollywood. It's About Time.” Time,
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“ION Orchard During the Day.” Tripadvisor, 2017,

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Nurjuwita, Dewi. “Futuristic City: How the Singapore Skyline Changed over the Past
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“Overview.” STB, https://www.stb.gov.sg/content/stb/en/about-stb/overview.html.

Population in Brief 2020, Strategy Group, Prime Minister's Office, 2020.

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