Singapore, always on the move

07/06/2010

Visitors who came to Singapore 10 years ago may not recognize the city today. This city-state, composed of multiple islands situated between Malaysia in the North and Indonesia in the South, is in perpetual development and new buildings spring up like flowers.

In 2009, Singapore welcomed 9,7 million visitors including 30% of MICE tourists. The city also just launched a new brand, YourSingapore, and its website in order to create a feeling of appropriation of the destination. Singapore Changi Airport is connected to 200 cities in 60 countries with more than 50 000 flights per week operated by 86 airlines. With the opening of the Terminal 3 in 2008, the airport now offers a personalized service to welcome VIPs. Singapore is also rich of all kinds of events venues, from to the hugest to the more original, Singapore Expo and Suntec Singapore being the more important convention centres in the country. The first one is composed of 10 convention and exhibition halls of 10, 000 sq m each with a meeting room per hall for staff. The Suntec Singapore boasts mighty proportions with its 12,000 sq m of convention halls, 12,000 sq m of exhibition halls, 3,700 sq m of versatile space, 596-seat theatre, 31 meeting rooms and 2,150 sq m of ballrooms.

For a different atmosphere, events can be held in the heart of the tropical rainforest atop Mount Faber, 10 minutes away from the city, in the Jewel Box. This vegetal venue offers 5 dining spots as well as the luxurious Diamond Palace Ballroom and welcomes up to 300 guests. On the hotel side, all the main groups are set in Singapore: InterContinental Singapore (403 guestrooms, meeting facilities for up to 600 people), Singapore Marriott Hotel (393 guestrooms, 13 meeting rooms), St. Regis Singapore (299 guestrooms, 8 meeting spaces). Opened in 2009, the Park Hotel Clarke Quay’s architecture takes its inspiration from the colonial past with Old-Continent furniture. The hotel boasts 336 guestrooms and its two latest floors are reserved to business travellers with some great dedicated facilities.

Singapore is also the country of integrated complexes bringing together business, leisure and entertainment such as the Resort World Sentosa which opened a few days ago on the island of Sentosa. The complex features 4 themed hotels, 26 function rooms, more than 20 indoor and outdoor venues as well as a marine life park, Universal Studios Singapore, and various shows. Other complexes are in the pipeline in the state-city. Amongst all the projects, the Marina Bay Sands is one of the most impressive. Due to open in a few days, it will gather on the same site casinos, hotels, theatres, museums, etc. and will welcome up to 45,000 delegates in its meeting facilities. Nature is also very present on the archipelago as two projects can show. With Gardens on the bay, a name echoing Singapore’s nickname “the garden city”, the city will offer 100 ha of vegetation downtown. These futuristic gardens, in constrast with the 150-year-old botanical garden, will be composed of Super Trees, green structures in the shape of a tree with event spaces on top for cocktails or dinners with a dramatic view. On the incentive side, the Mandaï River Safari recreates the environment of the main worldwide rivers including an insight into typical wildlife and flora.

www.yoursingapore.com

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