Singapore to remake iconic commercial Orchard Road to attract more int'l visitors

Singapore will remake its iconic commercial street Orchard Road and enhance tourism hardware and software to attract increasingly discerning travelers, said Minister for Trade and Industry S Iswaran at the Tourism Industry Conference 2017 on Thursday.

Speaking at the event, S Iswaran said there is a need to transform the precinct into a distinctive and vibrant shopping and lifestyle destination as consumer preferences change and retail trends evolve.

According to the minister, the government is trying to make Orchard Road more pedestrian-friendly and conducive for street-level activities.

"For the longer term, we can explore the possibility of a fully pedestrianized Orchard Road to serve as a multi-purpose space where diverse and larger-scale experiential concepts can be introduced," said S Iswaran.

The Orchard Road transformation project will be taken care by Singapore Tourism Board (STB), SPRING Singapore and Jurong Town Corporation and is expected to be completed by end-2018.

Meanwhile, at the conference, STB also signed a three year collaboration with The Walt Disney Company (Southeast Asia) to co-conceptualize marquee events that build on Disney's distinctive brands and memorable characters.

"This partnership with Disney is another exciting step in our efforts to anchor world-class entertainment events, and make Singapore the key leisure destination for visitors from Southeast Asia and beyond," said S Iswaran.

The minister also stressed the importance of productivity, people development and innovation to help ensure the vitality and sustained growth of the tourism industry.

Looking forward, STB expects international visitor arrivals to grow to 2 percent in 2017, and tourism receipts to grow between 1 to 4 per cent. Endit