Singapore, the "Lion City," has seen tourism roar recently. Visitor arrivals, which have more than doubled since 2003, jumped 13% in 2011, to 13.2 million, and tourism revenue rose by even more, 17%, to a record $17.8 billion last year.
The Singapore Tourism Board points to new casinos, hotels and tourist attractions as drivers behind the city's newfound success.
Unique accommodations such as the new Equarius Hotel Sentosa, at the edge of a rain forest next to a water park, and Lai Chun Yuen Hotel, Chinatown, an 80-room property inspired by Chinese opera houses, offer only-in-Singapore stays. Legacy brands also are localizing their stay experiences; the InterContinental Singapore, for instance, revamped 65 rooms and suites to reflect Indonesian-Chinese heritage.
On the attractions front, the River Safari theme park opens this year in the Mandai Nature Reserve area, offering boat rides, displays and "multisensory experiences" from 10 river environments worldwide.
In terms of tourism infrastructure, Singapore will soon unveil its International Cruise Terminal, which will double the port's berth capacity and accommodate the world's largest cruise ships.
Serene Tan, the tourism board's area director for the Eastern U.S. and South America, said Singapore's appeal is not being lost on U.S. travelers. The city saw an increase of 6% in U.S. arrivals in 2011, with 441,000 Americans visiting.
Many visitors are combining leisure and business travel, Tan said. Singapore's concentration of attractions, venues and activities -- "all packed into a compact, user-friendly and accessible city" -- makes it easy for business travelers to customize desired experiences in a short span of time.
U.S. leisure visitors typically combine Singapore with visits to Malaysia, Thailand, Vietnam or Indonesia. The current average stay of Americans is 5.4 days, Tan said.
Asked what she'd recommend for a U.S. vacationer or business traveler with only two days to spend in Singapore, Tan said that, first, sampling local cuisine is a must.
"It is very much a reflection of Singapore's cosmopolitan position and multicultural mix," she said, calling the city "the street food capital of the world." (Singapore is known for, at last count, 107 street-food vendor centers and 16,000 stalls.)
Singapore is also emerging as a highly regarded destination for fine dining. In 2010, the city-state was the only Southeast Asian country to make the San Pellegrino World's Best Restaurants list. In addition, Michelin-star chef Joel Robuchon recently opened two eateries at Resorts World Sentosa, joining Mario Batali and Daniel Boulud as world-class chefs with Singapore footholds.
Tan said other new must-sees include:
- Sands SkyPark, a 2.5-acre terrace 57 stories in the air, which offers the world's longest elevated swimming pool, an observation deck and more.
- The Singapore Flyer, at 542 feet high, is the world's largest Ferris wheel. Each 28-person capsule is the size of a bus, and each revolution takes 30 minutes.
- The Museum of Contemporary Arts, housed in former barracks now used to showcase works from all over Asia.
For more, visit www.yoursingapore.com.