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Source: www.mti.gov.sg |
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SPEECH BY MR LIM HNG
KIANG, MINISTER FOR TRADE AND INDUSTRY |
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AT THE RESORTS WORLD AT
SENTOSA GROUNDBREAKING CEREMONY, 16 APRIL 2007 |
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An Excerpt |
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IMPACT OF THE TWO IRs IN 2010 |
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Our tourism sector is currently enjoying a
period of strong growth. Over the next few years, it is set to become
even more vibrant and exciting when major tourism developments, such as
the Singapore Flyer and Gardens by the Bay are completed. |
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Together with the two IRs, these will help
us achieve our target to attract 17 million visitors and generate S$30
billion in tourism receipts by the year 2015. |
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In the year 2010, when both the Marina Bay
Sands and Resorts World at Sentosa are operational, we expect a surge in
the number of visitors to Singapore. |
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STB has projected that there will be an
additional 2 million to 3 million visitors, bringing our total annual
visitor arrivals to about 13 to 14 million. |
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Going by the current growth rate, this will
represent a significant 25 per cent increase over the 11 million visitor
arrivals projected for the year 2009. |
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Combined with the expected increase in the
length of stay from 3.4 days in 2006 to 3.6 days in 2010, this means
that the number of visitors per day will increase significantly by 55
per cent - from about 90,000 in 2006, to nearly 140,000 in 2010. |
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NEW BUSINESS OPPORTUNITIES ARE CREATED |
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This is definitely good news for the
tourism sector and the economy as a whole. |
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In particular, the tourism sector can
expect a sharp rise in demand for their facilities and services,
from attractions to hospitality services such as hotels, F&B
outlets or even coach services... |
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More hotel rooms are needed |
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First, we will need more hotel rooms
to cater to the increase in visitor arrivals. |
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Five sites were put up for tender
under the Government Land Sales programme last year, and all of
them met with very strong response from investors. Together, these
five sites will add over 1,800 new hotel rooms to our inventory. |
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There are 13 sites available in the
first half of this year under the Government Land Sales programme
for hotel development. |
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Currently, the tenders for two new
sites at Beach Road and Tanjong Pagar are ongoing. If all these
sites are sold, we are looking at potentially adding another 5,000
hotel rooms. |
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However, based on our projections,
more has to be done and this is why STB is also exploring
interesting accommodation concepts such as the adaptive re-use of
unoccupied state buildings for conversion to smaller hotels to
cater to the diverse needs of our visitors. |
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Increasing Air-capacity |
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In terms of air capacity, the opening
of Terminal 3 at Changi Airport next year will boost our annual
passenger handling capacity to 64 million, almost double the
record 35 million passengers handled by the airport last year. |
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Concurrently, STB is working with the
Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore and major airlines to
explore ways to increase air capacity so as to cater to the
expected increase in visitors. |
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Apart from increasing the number of
weekly flights to and from existing destinations, other areas that
STB is exploring include expanding the current list of 180
destinations so as to reach out to a wider market. |
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Dealing with the manpower demand |
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In terms of manpower, the two IRs
combined are expected to create some 50,000 to 60,000 additional
jobs throughout the economy when both are fully operational. |
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It is projected that there will be a
spike in recruitment by the two operators in 2009, particularly in
the months leading up to their official openings. |
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To enhance the attractiveness of a
career in the service sector, STB will be working closely with the
industry to encourage the adoption of exemplary HR and workplace
practices. |
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STB will also be launching a
three-year campaign this year to highlight the rewarding career
options available in the hospitality sector. |
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To meet the manpower demand and to
improve the quality of the tourism workforce, STB will continue to
work with the relevant agencies such as the Ministry of Education
(MOE), post-secondary education institutions, and the Workforce
Development Agency (WDA). |
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In particular, to attract the mature
workers to join these industries, STB is working with lead
agencies such as NTUC and industry associations in the Job
Re-creation Programme (JRP). |
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I am heartened that Genting
International intends to hire mature and Yellow Ribbon workers and
I applaud its efforts to be an inclusive employer of choice.... |
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Full Text of Speech |
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Source: www.gov.sg
Media Release 16 Apr 2007 |
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FrontPage Edition: Mon 16 April 2007
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