Planning for Tourism Singapore

Tourism and Singapore’s Development




While these developments were taking place, Singapore joined the National Union of Travel Organisations, a subsidiary body of the United Nations, and the Pacific Area Travel Association (PATA) in 19559 to raise its international profile and promote the local tourist industry.10 With a last-minute bid through cable by Chief Minister Lim Yew Hock in 1957, Singapore successfully became the host of the annual conference of the Pacific Area Travel Association in 1959.11 Winning the bid gave additional impetus for Singapore to establish a national tourism board prior to the conference.12 With the private sector still reluctant to contribute, the government decided to provide the required S$30,000 in annual financing, and set forth to appoint a Director of Tourism assisted by an advisory committee.13 At the inaugural meeting of the Tourist Advisory Board, then Minister for Commerce and Industry, Mr J. M. Jumabhoy commented that it was “the first time in the history of Singapore that a concerted and organised effort has been made to promote tourism and to attract tourists to the Colony.”14 The post of Director of Tourism was later assigned to Mr Robert Howlett from Fiji, the past General-Secretary of Fiji Visitors’ Bureau.15 He recommended various survey methods and tourist promotion means, highlighting the need for Singapore to coordinate “its tourist facilities and its available tourist attractions in a manner in which the whole picture can be presented to the potential visitor.”16 Unfortunately, not long after the successful 1959 PATA conference which helped establish early regional networks to cooperate in bringing more attention to the Pacific area,17 the Tourism department was closed to save money, and its work—mainly to do with publicity—was subsumed under the Ministry for Culture.









The first goal of increasing visitor arrivals was to be achieved through “judicious and effective” advertising as well as partnerships with private tourism agencies from countries which made up the tourism market. These promotional efforts were partly financed by a cessation tax levied on first-class hotels, which were considered “the direct and principal beneficiaries of any expansion of the tourist trade in Singapore.”27 Standards were introduced to classify hotels as either gazetted or nongazetted hotels for the purpose of this tax. In March 1970, the cessation tax was expanded to food and beverage charges for first-class restaurants and first-class bars (or public houses), and subsequently broadened to cover all sales, and charges levied and collected by all first-class tourist food establishments.28 Dr Goh explained that the 3% tax on sales in tourist establishments and the levy on every occupied tourist hotel room were justified because the “Republic’s hotels and restaurants benefit from the government’s efforts, and it was only equitable that they should contribute.”29 These levies were implemented gradually. Initially, they only applied to “direct and principal beneficiaries” of the tourism industry, but as the tourism market grew, a broader segment of the tourism industry was required to subscribe to the upkeep of the Board. As a result, the commercial sector shared the responsibility of greater overseas promotion efforts to attract more tourists to Singapore. A related concern was that the tax “would have an unfavourable reaction on the tourist trade”, if the owners of hotels and food establishments passed on the taxes to the consumer in the form of higher prices.30 Even so, the government assessed that the tax levy was not as hefty as those imposed by other countries and was thus unlikely to result in resentment by tourists or local consumers. Dr Goh understood that the second function of “ensuring tourists get good value for their money” was a relatively more complex task. STPB had to understand what tourists wanted, and what Singapore could offer. Dr Goh assessed that good hotel accommodation, to be furnished by the private sector, was “one of the conditions necessary” to attract tourists. This led to Singapore’s strategy of developing “first-class hotels” to appeal to leisure and business visitors. However hotels were only one aspect; there was also a need to ensure that the time spent by tourists was “pleasant, interesting and, if possible, even memorable.








While it was important to provide a range of quality attractions and understand tourists’ desires, this had to be balanced with important social objectives at the time. For instance, Dr Goh cautioned against a relaxation in extension of licensing hours for the sale of liquor, a relaxation on nightclub entertainment and the possibility of a casino. He reasoned that “the main beneficiary—or victim, depending on how you look at it—of the [a] free approach to public entertainment will be the native of Singapore and not the overseas tourist.”32 Finally, Dr Goh pointed out the final objective of tourism was to create “a good public image of Singapore in the world”, because “the first and basic object of sales promotion is to create a distinctive and favourable public image of the product [Singapore].”33 He suggested that Singapore’s image and branding could be enhanced by a distinctive symbol or emblem that people would immediately associate with Singapore. Such a symbol could also serve as the focal theme for a domestic souvenir industry to increase employment and revenue. As Dr Goh put it, “we will provide not only work and income for our citizens, but most important we will give Singapore a distinctive identity in the minds of the tourist.”34 Given its goal of promoting tourism as an economic sector, STPB was initially under the charge of the Ministry of Finance (MOF), and later transferred to the Ministry of Trade & Industry (MTI) when it was formed in 1979. From its inception, STPB’s focus on economics was different from that of national tourist organisations (NTOs) in many other countries, where tourism promotion typically came under a ministry responsible for cultural and heritage development. This economic focus helped to facilitate tourism development and planning efforts, because STPB could obtain the funds to support its undertakings more easily on the basis of future investment returns, and was supported by economic and industrial development agencies such as the Economic Development Board (EDB) and Jurong Town Corporation (JTC). This was particularly beneficial because although categorised as a service industry, tourism actually requires large upfront infrastructure and capital investments by both the private and public sectors. While “production or supply can be geared as close as possible to match demand” in sectors such as electronics or retail, such a strategy cannot apply to tourism, where “the capacity has to be built first and if there is growth in demand, the increases in capacity have to be done ahead of time if the demand is ever to be adequately catered to.Following Singapore’s independence, the permanent withdrawal of
British military personnel in 1968 led to a corresponding fall in spending
and employment. To counter the immediate threat of recession, the
government planned to inject an additional S$900 million into the
economy from 1968 to 1971, in the form of defence spending, public
sector and infrastructure development, and urban renewal.50 In addition,
to moderate the outflow of domestic spending on imports, the
government planned to embark on a rapid industrialisation programme,
and to encourage private investment through the provision of loans,
guarantees and equity participation.51
Seeing that the earlier 1958 Master Plan52 was inadequate and needed
“something more flexible and more suited to fast growth and change”,
in 1962, Erik Lorange, a UN Town Planning Adviser, found that a
framework of long-term programmes to organise redevelopment
alongside short-term implementation plans at precinct scale was
necessary. Building on the experience of a UN team comprising
architect-planner Mr Otto Koenigsberger, land and legal adviser Mr
Charles Abrams, and traffic economist Mr Susumu Kobe (collectively
known as “the KAK team”), who had helped plan development in Lagos,
Nigeria, previously, the outline of “a new planning system that accepted
initiative and leadership from the public sector and yet did not deny
private investors opportunity for legitimate profits” emerged.
Shortly afterwards, the Jurong Town Corporation (JTC) was formed
in May 1968. JTC was tasked with the provision of facilities and
the management of industrial estates, sites and flatted factories in
Singapore; and also the provision of amenities for the people living in
such estates and sites. With the rapid growth of industrial estates in
Jurong, JTC founding chairman Mr Woon Wah Siang said, “It will not
be merely an estate of factories to which workers go only for their
livelihood. The corporation will also be responsible for the well-being
and happiness of the people of the town.”54
As it happened, the Jurong Bird Park was realised because then Minister
of Finance, Dr Goh Keng Swee, shared his vision of creating a free-flight
aviary at the inaugural meeting of the JTC. Dr Goh had visited a similar
aviary at a World Bank meeting in Rio de Janeiro. He later remarked that
“compared with other enterprises of this kind, for example, a zoological
garden or a marine land, the great advantage of an aviary is that it does
not cost much to feed birds.”55 Dr Goh believed the Bird Park would be
a self-sustaining venture like the Bangkok Aviary, and that it would “add
to the enjoyment of our citizens, especially our children.”56
According to Mr Ho Kah Leong, then Member of Parliament for Jurong,
“The centre of industrialisation is [was] now at Jurong… as the Minister
for Finance pointed out in his Budget Statement, there is an urgent
need to improve the social amenities of Jurong Town.... We also know
that the corporation (JTC) is trying its best to develop Jurong into
a tourist centre.”57 The central issue was “the question of providing
practical social amenities and recreational facilities for the workers [in
Jurong town] so that they can actually enjoy themselves… what the
workers need is a place where they can rest or take part in recreational
activities.”58 Consequently, JTC conceptualised and built a number of
attractions, including a lake with man-made islands created by dredging
Jurong River, the Jurong Bird Park, and Japanese and Chinese Gardens.