These days, Rocson Chang goes to work everyday sporting a perpetual smile.
He attends strategic and marketing meeting back in Singapore with a noticeable skip in his every step and a beaming face. And who could blame him? In just over three years, the Singapore Tourism Board’s (SRB) Philippine office, which he heads, has been the boundless engine driving the tremendous growth in Filipino visitor traffic to the island-nation.
From 1991-2002, the average annual growth of Filipino visitors was a mere 5.47 percent. These days, 20 percent is par for the course.
The tremendous diversity of dining, entertainment and shopping options remain a strong draw of Singapore. The country was recognized as world’s No. 2 in nightlife and dining last year in the annual Country Brand Index (CBI) initiated by Future Brand, a forward-looking brand consultancy firm. TIME magazine recently did a feature on how much the nation was changing and called it "Singapore’s New Look."
Even movie producers are beginning to take notice of this "new" Singapore. India’s Bollywood held its equivalent of the Oscars there not too long ago and made Singapore the venue for the filming of an adventure film called Krissh. Lucasfilm Ltd, founded by Hollywood’s A–list director George Lucas, has opened an office there and another production — Dance of the Dragon — featuring Jason Scott Lee (Dragon — The Bruce Lee Story), Korean heartthrob Jang Hyuk (Windstruck, Volcano High), and Singapore’s A-list artiste Fann Wong (Shanghai Knights) will soon be underway.
Tourism hotspot
The growth of Singapore as a tourism hotspot has been further enhanced with the introduction of numerous enjoyable tourism products recently - the Sentosa Luge, Calrsnert Sky Tower, GMax, 4Dmagix, Cineblast, etc.
This is to reinforce already existing iconic ever-popular attractions and events like the Night Safari, DUCKTours, Jurong Birdpark, Zouk, Great Singapore Sale, Singapore Food Festival, world-class concerts (Sting, Elton John, Hoobastank, Gwen Stefani, Renee Fleming, Il Divo, S.H.E, Olivia Newton John) and performances (Phantom of the Opera, Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, The King and I, A Mid Summer Nights Dream, My Fair Lady, etc.)
The next few years promises even more excitement — both big and small.
The world-famous, multiple award-winning Changi Airport will see the opening of its Terminal 3 in January 2008. Once you manage to force yourself out of the airport, itself a major tax-free shopping and eating paradise, enter The Flyer — the country’s giant observation ferris wheel scheduled for launch around Valentine’s Day 2008.
Late 2009 will see the completion of the $ 5-billion Marina Bay Sands — one of two integrated resorts that will house shopping, dining, entertainment, accommodation, meeting facilities, the world’s first and only art-science museum, plus a casino.
On the other hand, Resorts World at Sentosa will open next year. Costing approximately $ 5 billion, this other development includes a Universal Studios theme park where some 16 rides are to be customized for Singapore only and the world’s largest Oceanarium.
What’s more? Guess we’ll just have to wait and see and let this perhaps not-so-little Lion City surprise us yet again.
All we know for certain is there’s more around the corner and that some 16 percent more Filipinos than last year have so far visited in just the first six months of this year.
Visiting Singapore is even more affordable and convenient with the easy availability of low-cost carriers — Tiger Airways, JetStar Asia and Cebu Pacific. Tiger Airways and JetStar Asia flies to Singapore from Diosdado Macapagal Airport, Clark, Pampanga and Ninoy Aquino International Airport, Manila, respectively. Cebu Pacific, too, offers a Manila-Singapore leg under its "GO" fare package.
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