| 2.25 Another services sector we are
actively promoting is the tourism and retail trade.
The Asia-Pacific tourism market is growing rapidly.
The middle classes in China and India are expanding.
Their incomes are rising, and they are increasingly
travelling abroad. This, plus the emergence of low-cost
carriers, presents our tourism sector with new, exciting
opportunities.
2.26 But competition for tourists has also increased.
Many of our key attractions now also exist in other
countries, often on a larger and grander scale. For
instance, when the Singapore Zoo built the Night Safari,
it was a world's first and became an international success.
However, a night zoo - many times larger than ours -
has since been developed in Guangzhou, and another night
safari will open in Chiang Mai later this year. Their
philosophy is anything you have, I will have better.
Likewise, when we built our Underwater World in Sentosa,
it was one of the few in this part of the world. Today,
Shanghai has its Aquaria 21 and Beijing its Tai Ping
Yang Underwater World.
2.27 To look at the bright side, these developments
show that many of our attractions were trend-setters.
Our continued success in tourism lies in constantly
coming up with new, innovative offerings to maintain
the interest of visitors and enlarge our market share.
Only then can we attract more visitors to Singapore
– both first-time and repeat, and entice them
to stay longer, and spend more.
2.28 First, we need to revitalise the retail, food
and beverage and entertainment sectors, to reinforce
Singapore’s attractiveness as a shopping and lifestyle
destination. Orchard Road already enjoys a reputation
as a premier shopping district. To build upon Orchard
Road’s international appeal, the Singapore Tourism
Board (STB) will invest $40 million over three years
to enhance its landscape and upgrade its infrastructure.
These initiatives will help improve Orchard Road’s
accessibility, its street-life, and its ‘hip factor’,
to draw visitors from across the world.
2.29 Second, we need to constantly refresh our appeal
to tourists and come up with new and innovative offerings.
One way to do this is by attracting investments in flagship
concept projects in retail, food & beverage, and
entertainment. I will therefore extend the existing
Investment Allowance incentive scheme to such projects
approved from 1 April 2005 to 31 March 2010.
2.30 Third, we need more world-class events and activities
to diversify our offerings. I will therefore grant event
companies a concessionary tax rate of 10% for qualifying
tourism events approved from 1 April 2005 to 31 March
2010.
2.31 Finally, we have been actively studying the feasibility
of an Integrated Resort (IR) in Singapore. The integrated
resort will expand our offerings in Singapore and bring
in new tourists.
2.32 We have invited interested investors to submit
concept plans for the integrated resort project. The
concept plans will give us a better sense of what an
integrated resort entails, and what economic benefits
it is likely to bring. If the investors intend to include
a gaming component in the development, i.e. a casino,
they will have to adhere to a set of social safeguards.
These will restrict access to the casino by Singaporeans,
and help to protect our work ethic and social values.
2.33 The signs are that there is serious investor interest
in the project. The deadline for submission of concept
plans is 28 February. The Government will carefully
assess the proposals, and weigh the benefits and consequences
of having an integrated resort with a casino. We will
consider not only the economic costs and benefits, but
also the likely social impact and the intangible consequences
of a casino on the ethos of our society. We will also
take into account the views that have been expressed
in the public debate, for and against. The Cabinet will
then make a decision whether to proceed, based on the
merits of the issue. This will most likely be within
four to six weeks, i.e. by mid-April.
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