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www.travelweekly-asia.com | 23 Westin Singapore, Ramada and Days Hotels at Zhongshan Park and The Amoy. Newly-opened hotels include the Sofitel So and Hotel Jen Orchardgateway, the new brand by Shangri-La Hotels & Resorts. Both hotels have already opened. Approximately 3,000 rooms will be added to the pipeline in 2014. Marina Bay Sands saw a record high of 99.8% hotel occupancy rate for the third quarter in 2013, and later closed the full year at 98.7%. In the second quarter of 2014, hotel occupancy rate remained at an aver- age high of 99.1%, according to Mike Lee, VP of Sales, Marina Bay Sands. "As Asia's leading luxury shopping destination, The Shoppes at Ma- rina Bay Sands has also witnessed positive momentum and growth since opening. The mall generated US$40.3million in revenue in the second quarter of 2014, which is 12.6% higher than the same quarter last year." Other attractions on property also set stellar records in 2013. As of December last year, more than 3.09 million tickets to the Sands SkyPark were sold. More recently, the iconic SkyPark received a Certification of Excellence 2014 by TripAdvisor. New attractions add to vibrancy Singapore has seen a prolifer- ation of new attractions adding to its vibrance as a cosmopolitan city. These include the Marina Bay Sands Skypark, Night Safari/Singapore Zoo, Sentosa, Singapore Flyer and Univer- sal Studios. There was an enhancement of at- tractions with the soft opening of the River Safari in April 2013, followed by the launch of the Amazon River Quest Boat Ride in December 2013. There was also the launch of Marine Life Encounters at Marine Life Park, Resorts World Sentosa, Sesame Street Spaghetti Space Chase Ride at Universal Studios Singapore and launch of Journey 2: The Mysterious Island at Sentosa 4D AdventureLand. While cultural and lifestyle pre- cincts continue to enjoy healthy pa- tronage by visitors, it is the aim of at- tractions to craft compelling stories, to deliver memorable experiences and develop a dynamic, sustainable business model. Meanwhile there are varied events that will further anchor Sin- gapore as a tourist hub in Asia, the Singapore Airlines Grand Prix, stellar sporting event the WTA Champion- ships and Art Week's premier show, Art Stage Singapore. Singapore has further established itself as a cruise hub with the Marina Bay Cruise Centre Singapore and Sin- gapore Cruise Centre. It is the regional HQ of the world's top 3 cruise com- panies (with 75% of market share) situated in Singapore. The 12 ships that made maiden calls in 2012 continue to return to Singapore for deployment while maiden voyages to Singapore in 2013 continue to remain healthy. Cruise passenger grew 13% from 2012 in 2013 with 390 ship calls made and 1.03 M cruise passengers throughout. There will be multiple-de- ployments from the cruise lines of Celebrity Cruises, Costa Cruises and Princess. With all these offerings, it is little wonder that Singapore continues to shine in South-east Asia. Singa- pore's reinvention is continuing to lure the tourists and tempt them to open their wallets. More importantly, its promise as a safe but exciting destination is a prime selling point as it attracts families, couples and solo travellers. TWA: How do you sell Singapore? Edmund: A carefree holiday with good value proposition (not the cheapest, but one which is value-for-money) which every genuine traveller hopes for. TWA: Are there more Chinese travellers going FIT? Edmund: Regional : China, Indonesia, Indochina, S.E.Asia. Further away : Europe, Australia and Middle East TWA: Are there more Chinese travellers going FIT and do the majority still go in groups? Edmund: Typically, first time visitors on would travel by group (Maiden Induction Tour) due to anxiety and familiarity. Repeat visitorships would happen with the cities' increasing wealth and more experienced travellers would then travel independently to places like Singapore which is easy to enjoy. Since the start of mass outbound travel in first-tiered cities (Shanghai, Beijing and Guangzhou) and second-tiered cities (Shenzhen, Hangzhou, Wuxi, Chengdu, Chongqing, Xiamen), we do see more FITs from these cities. With growing wealth in deeper-tiered cities – see them as deeper layers of kueh lapis (local Singaporean layer cake) – we expect to see more visitors travelling in groups as well. In short, it is a twin-track growth story from China as there are still "many layers of kueh" in the making, provided we the travel industry in Singapore, work to stay relevant with the expectations of Chinese visitors. TWA: What do they spend on? When it comes to accommodation, which tier hotel do they go for? Edmund: Generally, there is a subtle distinction between travel cost and travel expenditure. Typically (especially so for Asian travellers), they feel 'shiok' to spend on 'expenditures' (ie, they will spend according to their feel) whilst more budget conscious to spend on 'costs' (ie, they tend to hunt for good bargains). Affordability is relative to their wealth level and thus there are still Chinese visitors choosing luxury accommodation. TWA: Singapore has been a short stay destination, has that changed over the last 3 years? Edmund: Generally, there is a subtle distinction between travel cost and travel ex- penditure. Travel costs are necessities like air ticket, transport and accommodation and travel expenditures are discretionary items directly enjoyed by the spenders like food, shopping and entertainment. Typically (especially so for Asian travellers), they feel 'shiok' (happy) to spend on 'expenditures' (ie, they will spend according to how they feel) while the more budget- conscious tend to hunt for bargains. Affordability is relative to their wealth level and thus there are Chinese visitors choos- ing luxury accommodation. Q: Singapore has been a short stay destination, has that changed over the last three years? Due to increasing 'travel costs' – higher hotel rates and general cost of living – it remains a short stay place and could get worse if we do not intervene proactively. In June, we launched a campaign that promotes Singapore as a mono-destination with enhanced features highlighting Singapore's unique value propositions. The campaign "个十百千万 从心发现新加坡" promotes Singapore as a premium Mono-Destination in (our campaign attached) : ONE (个) wise choice : Singapore, TEN (十) Different ways of exotic fun, HUNDRED (百) Types of accommodation choices, THOUSANDS (千) dishes of authentic food, TEN-THOUSANDS (万) shopping ideas TWA: What can be done to make Singapore more exciting for visitors? Edmund: It is not good enough to be an International or world class city. We have the attributes (due to our diverse culture, religions, hubbing status, etc) but we need to nurture these attributes into key differentiators from other "international or world class" cities. Edmund Chua of Lex Travel shares his take on the Chinese market. Hotel Jen Orchardgateway's pool is the perfect place to unwind. DESTINATION: SINGAPORE Selling Singapore to the Chinese