There was a time when Singapore was a prime destination mainly for bankers and businessmen, but now the city-state also has started drawing tourists with some new attractions, the most popular being two casino-complexes built at a cost of over $10 billion that opened earlier this year: the Genting Resorts World Sentosa and the Marina Bay Sands. The two casinos and their related attractions represent the new face of a city that wants to transform itself from regional trade and financial centre into a place for both work and play. Though both casinos have yet to complete all their attractions, visitors to the city-state of 5.1 million people rose by over a-fifth to around 6.5 million in the seven months to July from a year ago. Hotel occupancy hit 90 percent in July, up 10.2 %.
Singapore’s transformation began in 2005 when the government legalised casinos as part of a plan to double visitor arrivals to 17 million by 2015. Singapore attracted 9.7 million visitors last year – but the figures do not include the thousands who cross over from Malaysia daily by land – and the number could rise to just under 12 million this year if the growth pace continues. Tourism currently accounts for about 7 percent of Singapore’s economy but could grow to around 12 percent by 2015 based on government projections on visitor spending, economists’ estimate. After having took a long time to decide that casino gambling would be good for the national economy, now that the casinos have arrived, the Singapore government is warning their own residents about the dangers that could come from creating a gambling habit: prime minister Lee Hsien Loong spoke over the weekend of how Singapore residents should leave the gambling to tourists from other county’s. The prime minister also spoke of how he saw Singapore residents inside the casinos, and that he hoped it was just to fulfill curiosity. “The prudent thing to do is to leave the punting games and slot machines to foreign tourists” he told. “That is the only sure-win policy for us, because whether they win or lose, they will generate gambling taxes… which Singaporeans can share in.
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