Singapore Tourism

Singapore’s attractiveness as a travel destination can be traced back to its history. For hundreds of years, travellers have found Singapore to be a welcoming stop. As far back as the 13th century, trading boats and merchant ships would take refuge in its safe harbour along the Malacca Straits, even making the island their new home. These early inhabitants would bestow upon Singapore a cultural heritage that is considered exotic today.

Even as Singapore celebrates its diversity of cultures, it embraces the future and worldwide trends in leisure and entertainment. As a result, tourists find Singapore to be full of fresh surprises and worthy of repeat visits.

Visitor numbers to the country have been growing consistently over the years. In 2009, Singapore received 9.68 million visitors, mainly from Indonesia, the People’s Republic of China, Australia, India, Japan, United Kingdom and Malaysia.

Traditional attractions

Singapore’s cultural and heritage trips showcase the old traditions which are still very much alive. Get a blast from the past by heading down to any of these ethnic enclaves: Chinatown, Kampong Glam, Arab Street and Little India. Each quarter unveils traditional artefacts, clothing, ethnic delicacies and other cultural treasures.

For starters, you could enjoy the Chinese antiques, traditional costumes or calligraphy of Chinatown, then have a whiff of assorted spices at Little India and purchase a sari or some jewellery for a loved one. Finally, hurry down to Kampong Glam and Arab Street for bazaar-style shopping and be intrigued by the exquisitely hand-made batiks from Indonesia and Malaysia – without ever leaving the country!
Recent and upcoming attractions
Singapore has many attractions to offer.
In September 2008, Singapore played host to the annual Formula 1 SingTel Singapore Grand Prix, marking a milestone in the history of F1: it was the first street race in Asia as well as the first night race in the world. A total of 1,600 projectors were used to illuminate the 5.067-kilometre circuit to 4 times brighter than that of a stadium; spectators were surely as dazzled as they were thrilled to get up close and personal with the F1 racers.

The integrated resorts: Marina Bay Sands (a world-class luxury resort and casino with convention facilities and upmarket restaurants) and Resorts World, Sentosa, houses Southeast Asia’s first Universal Studios Theme Park, the world’s largest marine life park, and six hotels.
Visitors can also look forward to the Gardens by the Bay, which will comprise three waterfront gardens in the Marina Bay area. Visitors to the Gardens will be greeted with a super surprise; they will be dwarfed by SuperTrees - tree-like structures that measure up to 16 storeys high! This lush-looking bay area will surely support the Singapore dream of being ‘A City in a Garden’.
Also in 2010, Singapore hosted the first Youth Olympics Games. With a total of 26 sports – which include innovative ones like BMX biking and beach wrestling – and a whopping 3,200 athletes and 800 officials involved across 12 days, this youthful, bustling city will only get younger.
Source: Singapore Tourism Board
Images courtesy of Yoursingapore

Singapore at a Glance

Country name: Republic of Singapore

Capital: Singapore

Location: An island and islets in the heart of Southeast Asia, between Malaysia and Indonesia

Area: 710.3 sq km

Highest point: Bukit Timah Hill at 163.36m

Climate: Tropical. It’s hot and sunny all year, with two monsoon seasons (December to March and June to September) bringing heavy rains

Government: Parliamentary republic

Gross Domestic Product: S$265,057.9 million (Statistics Singapore, 2009)

Major industries: Electronics, chemicals, financial services, oil drilling equipment, petroleum refining, rubber processing and products, processed food and beverages, ship repair, offshore platform construction, life sciences, entrepot trade

Currency: Singapore Dollar

Population: 5,076,700 (Statistics Singapore, 2010)

Median age: 37.4 years

Life expectancy: 81.4 years

Population growth rate: 3.1%

Ethnic groups: Chinese 74.1%, Malay 13.4%, Indian 9.2%, Other races 3.3%

Language: Malay, Mandarin, Tamil and English are the 4 official languages in Singapore. The national language shall be the Malay language and shall be in the Roman script.

Religions: Buddhism 42.5%, Islam 14.9%, Christianity 9.8%, Taoism 8.5%, Catholicism 4.8%, Hinduism 4%, other religions 0.7%, none 14.8% (Statistics Singapore, Census of Population 2000)

Literacy: 95.9% of the population above 15 years of age can read and write

Communications: Excellent facilities and services, including 3G wireless service launched in 2005, and a 193.4% household broadband penetration rate (Infocomm Development Authority, January 2011)

Mobile phone penetration: 143.9% (January 2011)

International country code: +65

Internet country code: .sg

Early Names of Singapore

Across the history of the Southeast Asian region, Singapore has been referred to by a variety of names, such as “Puluozhong”, “Temasek” and “Singapura”. The last of these is the Malay origins for the modern name of Singapore.

Puluozhong
A Chinese historical account of Singapore in the 3rd century refers to the island as Puluozhong. It is derived from the Malay words “pulau ujong”, which means "island at the end of the peninsula”.

Temasek
In 1365, Singapore was called Temasek in the epic poem “Javanese Nagarakretagama”. Temasek means “sea town” in Malay. The poem is recognised today as the most important piece of literature ever written during the Majapahit era.
Chinese trader Wang Dayuan, who visited Singapore around 1330, wrote the earliest first-hand account of the island’s history, referring to Singapore as “Danmaxi”, a Mandarin version of “Temasek”.

Singapura
Of all the historical accounts, the “Sejarah Melayu” or “Malay Annals” paints the most captivating picture of how Singapore came to have its present name.
Legend has it that Sang Nila Utama, then the ruler of Palembang (the capital city of the ancient kingdom of Srivijaya, a large part of which is presently known as Malaysia and Indonesia), made an unexpected landing in Temasek.
While seeking shelter from the storm, he sighted an animal on the island that appeared to be a lion. He declared the island’s new name to be “Singapura”, which means “lion city” in Malay. It replaced Temasek as the common name for the island by the end of the 14th century.
It was because of this ruler’s keen foresight that Singapore was later established as a trading post and settlement, due to its naturally strategic location along the Malacca Straits.
For more on Singapore’s history, check out the NUS bibliography 

Reasons to visit Singapore

Singapore Tourism Travel Slideshow