S'pore promotes tourism through cultural performances

S'pore promotes tourism through cultural performances

By Oei Eng Goan

On Feb. 27, the Singapore Tourist Promotion Board invited a
number of journalists from Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, and
Hong Kong to partly witness the implementation of its 'Tourism
Unlimited' campaign. The Jakarta Post was represented by its
journalist, Oei Eng Goan. Below is his report.

SINGAPORE (JP): Although often dubbed a "country ruled by an
iron hand in a velvet glove", Singapore still attracts millions
of tourists every year because of the wonders it creates to
encourage travelers to visit the island state.

The wonders are none other than strong government promotion of
national identity over ethnic allegiance, clean administration,
and an outright upholding of law and order, which makes Singapore
a country with the lowest crime rate in Southeast Asia.

Singapore's well-planned development of business, residential
and recreational centers, as well as presentation of regional and
international cultural performances, are other factors underlying
its successes.

With an average economic growth of 8 percent annually,
Singapore's development has impressed many nations. China's
paramount leader Deng Xiaoping, according to noted futurist John
Naisbit in his Megatrends Asia, published last year, has
"encouraged China to tap into the Singapore experience".

Part of the backbone of the country's economy is its tourism
industry. Though last year's tourism receipt was slightly down
from that of 1994, which recorded 6.9 million arrivals and S$10.9
billion in earnings, it still ranked third in the nation's
income, an official of the Singapore Tourist Promotion Board told
The Jakarta Post recently.

Since 1994, the board, which functions as the architect of the
tourism business, has launched a campaign called Tourism
Unlimited, which Christine Khor Sek Kee, the board's assistant
director for arts and entertainment, calls "a combination of
tourism resources and Singapore appeal with attractions of its
neighboring countries".

A lot has been done to realize the campaign; the opening of a
new art museum on Jan. 20 is an example. The museum, set up in
the renovated 19th century catholic school building St. Joseph's
Institution on Bras Basah Road, is a showcase of the works of
some 250 contemporary artists from Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia,
the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam, the seven
member countries of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations
(ASEAN).

"Taking the theme 'Modernity and Beyond', we encourage Western
tourists to see for themselves the fine creations of ASEAN
artists. All the artists' works displayed in this museum have
been carefully selected by art critics of each ASEAN members,"
T.K. Sabapathy, guest chief curator of the ASEAN exhibition, told
the Post.

Indonesia is represented by works that include renowned
painters Affandi and Hendra Gunawan, realist painters Soedjojono
and Dede Eri Supria, modernists Semsar Siahaan and Fajar Sidik
and sculptor Gregorius Sidharta.

"The works displayed here reflect common themes of this
region, such as urbanization, popular culture, mythology,
religion, nationalism and revolution, in the tradition of
realism, abstraction and the emergence of the modern," explained
Tan Chee Koon, deputy director of the National Heritage Board,
which oversees the museum.

Besides museums and art galleries, Singapore also encourages a
number of performing arts festivals, involving local, regional
and international artists.

"It is expected that some 2,000 performances can be held
annually, with an estimate of $80 million in sales turnover,"
said Siti Rosminah Ismail, the board's public relation executive.

Last year's festivals saw performances by 25 groups from 10
Asian countries. Highlights included performances by world-
renowned sitar virtuoso Ravi Shankar from India, who was
accompanied by the Shanghai Philharmonic Orchestra from China,
and performances by noted choreographer Sardono's dance group
from Indonesia.

In line with its Tourism Unlimited strategy, the island state,
which has earned the reputation as a shoppers' heaven in the
region, has also introduced the concept of theater travel to the
region. It has presented such world-class performances as the
West End hits Cats and The Phantom of the Opera, by Andrew Llyod
Webber, and Les Miserables, by Cameron Mackintosh, to whet the
appetite of more sophisticated foreign tourists.

"A decade ago no one would have dreamed of watching the
musical Les Miserables in Singapore," said a foreign diplomat of
the musical currently on at the Kallang Theater, until the end of
this month.

The diplomat's remark seems to answer why Singapore, a tiny
nation of 632 square kilometers, or about the size of the
Indonesian capital Jakarta, can attract foreign tourists whose
number is more than double its population of 2.9 million.

With 89 star-rated hotels, including the 70-story, 280-meter
world's tallest Westin Stamford; scores of boutique hotels,
provided for the more budget-constrained tourists; and 12,000
taxis, ready to serve the travelers, the island state offers
holidaymakers ease and comfort in terms of accommodation and
transport.

Now, despite numerous tourist attractions, including the 20-
hectare Jurong Bird Park, which boast the world's largest walk-in
aviary housing some 8,000 birds of 600 species from Asia, Africa
and America; and Underwater World, which occupies a 2.5-hectare
plot with more than 6,000 marine animals, making it the largest
tropical oceanarium in Asia, presenting famous musicals in the
country has affirmed Singapore's status as a regional hub for the
arts.