Singapore VS Macau And Hong Kong - And The Winner Is?
By Don Richard
September 07
Singapore

Singapore desires to transmit an urgent message to a breathlessly awaiting world that it has changed. The greatest manifestation of this amazing metamorphosis is the introduction of two casino resorts due to open in 2009 and 2010. These, along with the imposing list of attractions already on offer; beaches, landscaped gardens, untouched islands such as Pulau Ubin (just a 10-minute boat ride from the mainland), are meant to make Singapore an even more successful tourist destination than it already is. Add to these the newly opened Vivo Mall (which many shopoholics consider to be one of  the most beautiful shopping centers in the world), the numerous landscaped gardens and the already justifiably famous Ferris Wheel and one is forced to ask,? Is Singapore about to become THE tourist destination of the Far East??

Singapore is trying to compete against the popular tourist destinations of Hong Kong and Macau. Especially, it needs to capture a significant proportion of the continueingly growing and lucrative market of tourists from China... But the road to reaching this goal may prove long and difficult for Singapore. Will the new and largely artificial tourist creations attract an ever more skeptical and demanding traveler, or will Singapore have to be doing some serious excavating into its historical archives to create new ‘historical? attractions? Or to put it more bluntly, is simply snagging the rights to host Formula One racing enough to raise its profile abroad?

Macau on the other hand is also working around the clock to attract more visitors. Construction of additional casino hotels has been put into high gear, and in June this year US conglomerate Playboy, was given the green light to begin construction of “The Playboy Mansion Macao Resort? scheduled to open in 2008.  The “Playboy?brand name, extremely recognizable for years in the US, has been making steady and very successful inroads into a once rather conservative Asia. This business venture between Macau and Playboy represents a coup for both parties and is sure to attract the growing Chinese tourist market.

Prostitution is not strictly legal in Macau, yet the sex industry in Macao is thriving in massage parlors and saunas right next to the casinos. Will Singapore need to imitate this by also establishing such an industry adjacent to its casinos? In the opinion of this writer, there is no need for Singapore to opt for this kind of entertainment to lure visitors. What makes Singapore stand out is the squeaky clean and family friendly image which it has been projecting to the world for decades. Let us hope it remains that way!

Hong Kong, in contrast, has taken a principled decision not to enter the casino business, even when faced with strait-laced Singapore forging ahead with the two mammoth Integrated Resorts.

Hong Kong offers a massive number of attractions to visiting tourists and has no need to rely on income from gambling. In addition, Beijing is certainly not too keen on allowing Hong Kong to develop into yet another casino Mecca.

Wonderful outlying islands, hills and temples in the new territories, traditional Chinese markets in the Kowloon District, The Peak; all of these have attracted visitors for years. But Hong Kong never sat on its laurels. For years it has continued to invest heavily in promoting itself as THE premier tourist destination, going so far as to successfully win the Holy Grail of tourist attractions, Disneyland, which has become one of Hong Kong’s most heavily visited  attractions. For all its hard and far-sighted work, Hong Kong is now reaping the benefits with 25 million visitors a year.

The two cities in China’s special administrative regions of Hong Kong and Macau took the lead in visitor arrival numbers in 2006 with Macau receiving 22 million visitors and Hong Kong around 25 million. Singapore welcomed around 10 million arrivals.

With China having steadily eased controls over its citizens traveling overseas, Hong Kong, Macau and Singapore all have strong marketing campaigns targeting mainland Chinese tourists. Many analysts, however, believe that Macau will outpace Hong Kong’s visitor business by a healthy margin next year, while Singapore has some catching up to do.

The Singapore government is committed to doubling the number of visitors to 17 million a year by 2015, and to trebling tourism receipts to $30 billion. Will it succeed? Time will tell. But what we do know for sure is that the two casino resorts currently under construction will certainly help in increasing the number of tourist arrivals to Singapore.