Northstar

16 | www.travelweekly-asia.com ATTRACTION SENTOSA The State of Fun – that's a tagline with a tall order. And with something as subjective as "what's fun?", Sentosa Island has pulled out the big guns to attract visitors ranging from families and youths to working millennials, business travellers and active silvers. Sentosa Development Corporation's (SDC) emphasis on curating a diverse portfolio of attractions, lifestyle venues and entertainment outlets has resulted in strong annual visitorship of 19 million from markets such as Singapore, China, India, Malaysia and Indonesia. What's the brand story? As a destination, Sentosa Island has to sync with Singapore's global positioning to enhance the city's appeal, and SDC stands strong with island ambassadors who share their stories of passion with whomever they serve; and with an island-wide transformation of visitor experiences that throw an innovative spin into the mix. How will Sentosa continue to shine as an all-in-one leisure and business destination to remain top of mind and top in class? We will be enhancing guest experiences through projects such as the redevelopment of the Merlion Gateway Precinct, which encompasses our main north-south pedestrian thoroughfare. By 2021, guests strolling through the precinct will enjoy better accessibility and greater pedestrian capacity, as well as more immersive experiences, photo points and open spaces for regular change of events to keep the island new and refreshed all the time. In the shorter term, we are focusing on attracting new and repeat visitors by building on both It's always sunny-side up A constant revival of guest experiences and product offerings keeps Sentosa Island attractive in an increasingly competitive market. CEO Quek Swee Kuan of Sentosa Development Corporation shares his vision for destination marketing. By Esther Faith Lew "hardware" and "software". On the "hardware" front, we constantly work with our island partners to refresh their offerings (eg. Skyline Luge's new tracks, Madame Tussauds Marvel 4D Experience, SDC's own Surrender Chambers content revamp etc). On the "software" front, we are constantly rolling out new events that our guests cannot easily find elsewhere in Singapore or the region (eg. giant sand sculpture exhibitions, movies by the beach, BBQ festival, etc). With sports tourism gaining popularity, how can Sentosa ride the wave to increase arrivals? Sports tourism is an area of growth for Sentosa as we are well- positioned to attract this market. Beach volleyball for instance is a common sight on Siloso Beach, where we will host the Federation International de Volleyball (FIVB) Beach Volleyball World Tour in June. Our beaches are home to unique offerings such as Ola Beach Club, where guests can enjoy jet packing, kayaking and stand-up paddle boarding; as well as Wave House Sentosa where thrill seekers can surf on waves up to 10-feet tall. We also have a premier marina, One Degree 15, to cater to guests interested in yacht and sailing experiences, while the world- renowned Sentosa Golf Club is home to the SMBC Singapore Open and HSBC Women's World Championship. We also host several other sports events, including the Colour Run, Transformers Run, Hello Kitty Run and Spartan Race. How will Sentosa evolve to attract new-gen travellers, in terms of engagement and experience? As the new generation of travellers becomes increasingly connected, we see a need to engage them more on this front. As such, we are developing the One Sentosa Platform (OSP), which is an over- arching digital platform that unifies all forms of guest touchpoints so as to enhance overall guest experience. Launched in January 2018, the new version of MySentosa app boasts features such as gamified trails and smart itinerary planning and smart navigation. Other mobile features in the development pipeline that appeal to new-gen travellers include a chatbot, mobile wallet and Augmented Reality (AR) experiences. We can also see more technology being incorporated into our attractions, for example; the launch of a new AR experience at the Trick Eye Museum that brings its art installations to life, as well as Madame Tussauds Singapore's new Marvel 4D Experience, featuring Asia's first Marvel 4D cinema.

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