TH1803

CASE STUDY ANALYSIS

Tourism Development in Singapore
During the 1960s, Singapore saw the potential of economic growth tourism can bring. However, tourism
development was quite a challenge to them since Singapore does not offer many natural attractions and
only had a few historical landmarks. People saw the country as a transit destination than a tourist
destination.

That didn’t stop Singapore to pursue the plans of turning the country into a tourist destination. On January 1,
1964, the Singapore Tourist Promotion Board (STPB) was formed to develop tourism in the country as an
economic sector. They developed tourism policies and strategies in coordination with other national
priorities.

Singapore capitalized on its British colonial heritage, worked with private sectors to provide infrastructure
development, and developed facilities that will attract business and conference travelers. Before this
development, private sectors were mostly in charge of all tourism-related developments. The STPB served as
the platform for the cooperation of government and private sectors to increase visitor arrivals.

The Singapore government emphasized that tourism should be considered as an industry than a tool for
public promotion. In line with this idea, the STPB was tasked with two (2) objectives: to get as many tourists
as possible to visit and to make sure tourists get good value for their money spent. These objectives were
intended to encourage more visitors to come through stories coming from those who visited the country
about the experience.

The STPB faced the challenge of not having any natural tourist attractions and a lack of funds for tourism
through helping the Indonesian government develop Bali as a tourist attraction. It seemed odd for Singapore
to help someone else with the same industry they intend to develop. However, it proved that this was a
good strategy to develop tourism. The STPB thought that developing Bali would mean that Singapore will
serve as a major transit point for tourists going to the former and might even spend a few days in the latter.
This strategy conceded that Singapore could not be a major tourist attraction, though it can be
acknowledged as a worthy stopover destination.

Tourism Slump and Recovery

In the 1980s, tourism has been contributing to the Singaporean economy and has been providing many jobs.
However, in 1982, the growth of tourism slowed down and became worse in the following years and
alarming. This led to the setting up of a high-level tourism task force and the establishment of a product
development division to coordinate tourism infrastructure development that will help with the recovery of
tourism.

They discovered that developing more attractions was not simply enough as building Singapore to sport a
more modern metropolis look loses its oriental mystique and charm. The cultural buildings and traditional
activities, which were the key ingredients of tourism development, were becoming lost. Reports by the
tourism task force group supported this claim and led to programs that focused on conserving the cultural
identity of the country.

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Timeline of Singapore’s Tourism Development

 Designation of the Department of Tourism under the purview of the Ministry of Finance
1959 instead of the Minister for Culture in the State of Singapore Government Gazette
Supplement of 1959
 Singapore Tourist Association formed on February 20th
 Tourist Promotion Bill presented by Dr. Goh Keng Swee (Minister for Finance); Tourist
Promotion Board Act passed on December 20th
1960
 Design of the Merlion was published in an official gazette as part of the Singapore
Tourism Act of 1963 with the Merlion subsequently serving as the STPB’s promotional
emblem from 1964 to 1997
1964  Singapore Tourism Promotion Board (STPB) set up on January 1st
 Singapore named “The Garden City” by then-Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew
1967
 Start of the Garden City campaign
 Closure of the Singapore Tourist Association
 Formation of Special Committee for Conversion of Selective Historic Sites into Tourist
1970
Attractions in December.
 Introduction of daily “Instant Asia” Cultural Show
 Opening of Jurong Bird Park on January 3rd
1971
 Opening of Sentosa
 The official opening ceremony of Raffles Landing Site on February 3rd
1972  Merlion Project completed and installed at the mouth of the Singapore River,
inaugurated by then-Prime Minister Mr. Lee Kuan Yew on September 15th
1973  Opening of Singapore Zoological Gardens on 27 June
1974  Formation of Singapore Convention Bureau in April
 Opening of Singapore Handicraft Centre by Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew on September
1976
25th
 STPB came under the purview of the newly created Ministry of Trade & Industry in March
1979  Official opening of Singapore Cultural Theatre by Mr. Goh Chok Tong, then-Minister for
Trade & Industry, in March
1981  Singapore’s new Changi Airport opened for commercial operations on July 1st
 Tourism Task Force was formed by Dr. Tony Tan, then-Minister for Trade and Industry, in
August
 The Product Development Division was established to coordinate the development of
1984
tourism infrastructure on September 1st
 Introduction of Festival Light-Up with “Christmas at the Equator” on Orchard Road in
December
 Introduction of Light-Up for Lunar New Year, Hari Raya and Deepavali (festivals in
1985
Singapore), and Haw Par Villa cultural park which is acquired by the government
 Redevelopment of Haw Par Villa into a Chinese mythological theme park awarded to
International Theme Parks (S) Pte. Ltd., a consortium formed between two (2) local
1986 companies Fraser & Neave (S) Pte. Ltd. and Times Publishing Berhad, in April
 One billion dollars allocated by the government to fund the Tourism Product
Development Plan aimed at revitalizing Singapore’s existing attractions and building new
ones
 Rebirth of the Singapore River as a cultural and entertainment center; traditional
1987 bumboats were reintroduced to provide regular cruises, Singapore River Cruises, on
November 14th

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 Development of a new strategic plan to identify mid-term to long-term goals of

1991 Singapore’s tourism industry (1992–1995)
 Raffles Hotel re-opened after its restoration on September 16th
1992  Opening of a 710-meter land link to Sentosa
 Official opening of Boat Quay in August
1993
 Official opening of Clarke Quay by Dr. Richard Hu, then-Minister for Finance, in December
 Initiated Tourism Unlimited strategy with the expansion of the STPB’s role in tourism
1994
business development in addition to destination promotion role
1995  New destination position branding, “New Asia-Singapore”, was formulated.
1996  Launch of the industry’s National Tourism Plan, “Tourism 21”, in July
1997  Singapore Tourist Promotion Board renamed Singapore Tourism Board (STB)
1998  The Chinatown Experience Guide Plan first mooted
 Bridging Loan Programme for SARS-affected, tourism-related sectors, administered by
2003
SPRING Singapore in consultation with STB, from May 1st to December 31st
2005  Tourism Master Plan – Tourism 2015 launched on January 11th
2008  The first-ever night circuit Formula One race launched.
2010  Opening of integrated resorts.

Instructions:
1. For this activity, your group is encouraged to brainstorm, work as a team, and read and analyze the
case of Singapore’s tourism development, slump, and recovery.

2. Your group is required to provide a statement that will answer the following questions:
o What could be the tourism policy of the STPB based on your analysis of the case?
o Explain in summary the process of how tourism developed in Singapore.
3. Place your output on a Word file and submit it via Dropbox.
4. Your output will be evaluated using the following rubric:
Content: Case Analysis – Singapore Tourism Development
CRITERIA PERFORMANCE INDICATORS POINTS
All questions are answered concerning the topics discussed. 20
Content
Provided viable and well-thought answers regarding the case 20
Simplicity and Used simple words and well-organized thoughts to express ideas
5
Organization properly that are easy to comprehend
Teamwork The participation of all group members is evident. 5
TOTAL 50

Lifted and modified from:

Centre for Liveable Cities. (2015). Urban system studies: Planning for tourism: Creating a vibrant Singapore. Retrieved from
https://smartnet.niua.org/sites/default/files/resources/Plan-for-tourism.pdf on March 22, 2019

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STI