- Joined
- Sep 20, 2009
- Messages
- 693
- Points
- 18
Came across this blog site....Okay, PAP, you used $10 million dollars to try to assimilate foreigners.... but it looks like it was a waste of money!
http://unraveling-singapore.blogspot.com/
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Being from the US, and having lived in Singapore for two years, I'm sorry to say that Singapore wouldn't be on my list of choices for a travel destination, and when I do leave Singapore I doubt I'll ever come back, unless I have a layover. I also have trouble seeing myself recommending Singapore as a place to visit.
It's not that I hate Singapore. On the contrary, there's quite a bit to love about Singapore, especially as a place where you'd choose to live for a few years. It has great public parks, gyms, community areas, and very organized transit, etc. The problem is prices and worthwhile tourist destinations.
Singapore is one of the priciest places to visit in Asia, short of Japan (I'm guessing). For what you'd pay to visit Singapore for two weeks, you could either stay a month in a surrounding country, live in accommodations that are twice as well appointed, or do twice as much while on your holiday. There's cheap food to be had in Singapore, sure, but who goes on holiday to spend every meal at a hawker? It's nice to dip into Asia's hawker areas, but holidays are also about relaxing, eating good, and taking in the sights. Singapore's high prices put a shorter leash on those expenditures than visiting another Asian country like Thailand or Malaysia.
The second part of it is that Singapore is like Asia's version of the United States. The country is a conglomeration of cultures from around the region. It's an interesting mix, and again, it's great if you're looking for a place to live because it exposes you to many cultures, but as a tourist I would want to see the original. Just as an example, why eat Hainanese Chicken Rice in Singapore, if you could eat it in Hainan, China? You know what I mean?
Singapore is working hard to build tourist attractions, but I don't know why someone would fly from the United States all the way to Singapore just to lose money in a casino or go to Universal Studios. Both of those things can be done in the US. A person flying from the US to Asia would be more inclined to see ancient temples, ride elephants, explore caves, walk the Great Wall, or lay out on white sand beaches and splash in crystal clear water. The attractions that Singapore is setting up seem pale and artificial by comparison. I don't blame Singapore for trying, but realistically Singapore isn't that great a place to go for a holiday.
I'm not offering up only criticism though. I think the right angle for Singapore to take is to market itself as a one stop electronics destination. Singapore is already known for having cheap electronics. Maybe the government should focus on promoting that by increase events, bringing down prices, and becoming an electronics sales hub. If people can come to Singapore and get laptops for the whole family at a fraction of the cost they would pay elsewhere, it would encourage shopping tourism. Additionally, while in Singapore that family would engage in other activities, like the casino and Universal Studios perhaps.
(This is all based on personal opinion and speculation. I didn't go out and do surveys or anything like that.)
http://unraveling-singapore.blogspot.com/
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Being from the US, and having lived in Singapore for two years, I'm sorry to say that Singapore wouldn't be on my list of choices for a travel destination, and when I do leave Singapore I doubt I'll ever come back, unless I have a layover. I also have trouble seeing myself recommending Singapore as a place to visit.
It's not that I hate Singapore. On the contrary, there's quite a bit to love about Singapore, especially as a place where you'd choose to live for a few years. It has great public parks, gyms, community areas, and very organized transit, etc. The problem is prices and worthwhile tourist destinations.
Singapore is one of the priciest places to visit in Asia, short of Japan (I'm guessing). For what you'd pay to visit Singapore for two weeks, you could either stay a month in a surrounding country, live in accommodations that are twice as well appointed, or do twice as much while on your holiday. There's cheap food to be had in Singapore, sure, but who goes on holiday to spend every meal at a hawker? It's nice to dip into Asia's hawker areas, but holidays are also about relaxing, eating good, and taking in the sights. Singapore's high prices put a shorter leash on those expenditures than visiting another Asian country like Thailand or Malaysia.
The second part of it is that Singapore is like Asia's version of the United States. The country is a conglomeration of cultures from around the region. It's an interesting mix, and again, it's great if you're looking for a place to live because it exposes you to many cultures, but as a tourist I would want to see the original. Just as an example, why eat Hainanese Chicken Rice in Singapore, if you could eat it in Hainan, China? You know what I mean?
Singapore is working hard to build tourist attractions, but I don't know why someone would fly from the United States all the way to Singapore just to lose money in a casino or go to Universal Studios. Both of those things can be done in the US. A person flying from the US to Asia would be more inclined to see ancient temples, ride elephants, explore caves, walk the Great Wall, or lay out on white sand beaches and splash in crystal clear water. The attractions that Singapore is setting up seem pale and artificial by comparison. I don't blame Singapore for trying, but realistically Singapore isn't that great a place to go for a holiday.
I'm not offering up only criticism though. I think the right angle for Singapore to take is to market itself as a one stop electronics destination. Singapore is already known for having cheap electronics. Maybe the government should focus on promoting that by increase events, bringing down prices, and becoming an electronics sales hub. If people can come to Singapore and get laptops for the whole family at a fraction of the cost they would pay elsewhere, it would encourage shopping tourism. Additionally, while in Singapore that family would engage in other activities, like the casino and Universal Studios perhaps.
(This is all based on personal opinion and speculation. I didn't go out and do surveys or anything like that.)
