destination reports: singapore: Attractions
Attractions
Being a melting pot of cultures, cuisines and celebrations, Singapore offers a wide variety of attractions for incentive groups.
“One of the main draw cards is the amazing range and quality of food, shopping and nightspots for guests to experience. Activities vary from a ride on the Singapore Flyer, a dine around programme at Clarke Quay, a cruise on the Singapore River, multiple activities at Sentosa Island, or a walking or trishaw tour around China Town. These are some of the most popular activities,” says Matthew Smith, general manager, Extra Mile Company.
Singapore offers visitors a unique blend of modernity and rich cultures, and with its multi-cultural and multi-racial society, there is a diversity of festivals that is celebrated all year round, such as the Chinese New Year Chun Jie Celebrations, Chinatown Vesak Festival, Mid-Autumn Festival, Hari Raya and Deepavali Celebrations, and Christmas in the Tropics. The colourful celebrations include a variety of activities, bazaars, cultural performances and fireworks displays for visitors to enjoy.
The Chingay Parade of Dreams is Asia’s largest street carnival in Singapore as part of the Chinese New Year festivities. It is held in January or February, depending on the lunar calendar, to mark the Chinese New Year. This annual event sees overseas artistes perform alongside local talents, colourful floats and crowd-pleasing performances, showcasing the rich multi-cultural diversity of Singapore.
The Singapore Arts Festival in June is one of the leading international arts festivals known for its bold and innovative showcase of contemporary arts with a distinctive Asian flavour. Established as a national celebration for the arts, the festival offers a myriad showcase of world-class and internationally-acclaimed arts productions, and has a strong trademark for presenting several world and Asian premieres.
Singapore has long been known as a garden city and one of its unique features is its seamless green landscape that interweaves parks, gardens and nature reserves with the urban landscape. In the Marina Bay area, Gardens by the Bay will be the centrepiece of Singapore as a City In A Garden, right in the heart of the new downtown. The 101-hectare green oasis will reinforce Singapore’s tropical garden city reputation.
Esplanade – Theatres on the Bay is one of the world’s busiest arts centres. This architectural icon, with its distinctive twin shells, is located just by Marina Bay at the mouth of the Singapore River. The Esplanade has programmes that cater to a diverse audience that includes a line-up that spans all genres to encompass music, dance, theatre and visual arts, with a special focus on Asian culture. With a rich history dating back to 1887, the National Museum of Singapore is the country’s oldest museum with the youngest and most innovative soul. Designed as the people’s museum, the 120-year-old institution prides itself on introducing cutting-edge and varied ways of presenting history to redefine the conventional museum experience.
Permanent exhibitions include the Singapore History Gallery, which employs multimedia in telling the country’s 700-year history, and four Living Galleries (food, photography, fashion and film) which celebrate Singapore’s multi-racial and multi-cultural society. A 10,000-square-metre Exhibition Gallery is a frequent host to international travelling exhibitions.
Offering world-class meeting facilities, accommodation options to fit all budgets and a variety of exciting incentive attractions, all within convenient travel times, Singapore is an ideal destination for meeting groups wanting to fit a lot into a short timeframe.
