Singapore is known to be the perfect tourist destination which attracts about 17.4 million international tourists in a single year. This number is approximately 3 times the whole population of Singapore. This massive count makes Singapore the 5th most visited city in the whole world and gave a boost to to Singapore tourism.
In the last decade, Singapore has seen an evident rise in its tourism. With every single year passing, tourism surged. This has been possible because of the warmth Singaporeans have for all the tourists who visit their country. Easily accessible transport facilities of this place make it very convenient for the tourists to move around the city and experience the mesmerizing Singapore tourist attractions.
Analyzing the current situation
Taking into consideration the current scenario of a global pandemic, tourism in all the countries have fallen. Same is the case with Singapore. Due to various travel restrictions put up by the authorities to retain the coronavirus, the tourism business in all the countries has come to a standstill at least for now.
Some of the evident changes in Singapore tourism because of COVID-19 are:
- More focus on local tourism
Singapore is a country which is the 5th most travelled in the whole world. Such a country is facing a really hard time as it has to deliberately shut its borders for some specific countries as per the international travel restrictions put up by the respective authorities. In such a situation, the authorities are focussing more on local tourism rather than choosing international travel.
Not only this, but international tourists are also proscribed to enter Singapore at least for some time. This has severely impacted tourism and earnings to the tourism industry.
- Non-functional Singapore tourist attractions
Due to hampered tourism, Singapore tourist spots and famous sights are shut down, and all the people who used to earn a livelihood by working at these places are also in miserable conditions. Various grocery stores, tourist guides, travel companies, restaurants etc. have become almost inoperable.
There is still no prediction as to when is the situation going to be back to normal. Without any anticipation, the people working at Singapore tourist attractions and destinations are clueless about the source of their earnings. COVID has directly or indirectly disturbed the lives of all the people.
- Major changes in local travel
Singapore has several travel companies which facilitate the locals and the tourists to commute from one place to another. In such challenging times, people are not willing to move freely in public vehicles as compared to the earlier times. Considering this, all the travel service providers have made certain changes in their vehicles to fit the situation. Especially in the buses, several changes have been made. Some of the most noticeable changes in Singapore buses and coaches are listed below:
- Some of the buses have rearranged their seating layout to ensure an appropriate distance between the passengers.
- All the buses are equipped with amenities like hand-sanitizers and thermal screening.
- E-ticketing is emphasized, and passengers are motivated to use the online mode of booking their tickets.
- Singapore tourist information is being maintained as per the COVID guidelines.
- All the individuals are required to wear masks while travelling on Singapore buses.
- All the buses are disinfected incessantly.
- Buses are also washed inside out at regular intervals.
- In some luxury buses, unlike olden times, passengers are not provided personal blankets or linen.
- Temperatures of passengers in the buses are checked frequently on long routes.
Singapore tourism in the last decade
This year’s tourism in Singapore has been the worst in the last five decades. Before the COVID period, tourism in Singapore was on the rise as always. Statistics show that from 2010 to 2019, there wasn’t a single year in which the graph of Singapore tourism dipped. It just went up and up until the year 2020.
Some of the notable highlights of Singapore tourism in the last decade are listed below:
- Traveller count
In the year 2010, almost 11,641,700 tourists visited Singapore, whereas a total of about 19.1 million visitors came to Singapore. All these passengers were international tourists.
- Popular countries
Singapore has been a country that attracted trade or tourism from some of the most economically stable countries of the world. In the past ten years some of the countries which had a direct relation with Singapore through tourism are listed below:
- China
- Indonesia
- India
- Malaysia
- Australia
- Japan
- Philippines
- United States
Apart from the statistical data, Singapore was well known for being the country with the least crime rate. This was also the biggest motivation for tourists to visit Singapore tourist places freely as compared to other countries.
There are various shopping centres which flourished amazingly in the last decade. These places are:
- China Town
- Marina Bay
- Bugis Street
- Geylang Serai
- Kampong Gelam
- Arab Street
- Little India
- North Bridge Road
- Orchard Road
Most visited Singapore tourist attractions in the last ten years are:
- Masjid Sultan
- Thian Hock Keng Temple
- Sri Mariamman Temple
- Kranji War Memorial
- Civilian War Memorial
- Victoria Theatre and Concert Hall
- Yueh Hai Ching Temple
- Lian Shan Shuang Li Monastery
- Istana Kampong Glam
Some of the most amazing festivals hosted by Singapore in the last ten years are:
- Chingay Parade
- Singapore Arts Festival
- Singapore Garden Festival
- Singapore Food Festival
- Singapore Sun Festival
- Singapore Jewel Festival
- Singapore Grand Prix
- Youth Olympic Games
All this shows that Singapore tourism was at its zenith in the last decade, which has seen an unprecedented downfall. However, it can be hoped that everything goes well soon so that things get back to normal.
It is the utmost responsibility of the inhabitants of any country that they take proper precautionary measures so that this deadly virus can be retained. Wearing face masks, washing hands, frequent use of hand-sanitizers and avoiding physical contact are some of the requirements that can help us win this battle against novel coronavirus disease.