Mr S Iswaran at the “Songs Of The Sea” Premiere

SPEECH BY MR S ISWARAN, MINISTER OF STATE FOR TRADE AND INDUSTRY AT THE “SONGS OF THE SEA” PREMIERe, 26 MARCH 2007, 7.30 pm AT SILOSO BEACH, SENTOSA

Your Excellency, Distinguished Guests, Ladies and Gentlemen

Introduction

I am delighted to join you tonight for the premiere of the new Songs of the Sea show. The opening of this $30-million nightly attraction will not only enhance the visitor experience in Sentosa, but also set a new benchmark forentertainment offerings in Singapore.

Sentosa’s appeal

SentosaIsland has the distinction of being the top leisure destination in Singapore. In 2002, Sentosa embarked on a 10-year Masterplan to refresh, renew and revamp itself, and this has produced remarkable results.

Private investors have embraced the Masterplan by committing more than S$9 billion towards Sentosa’s aim of becoming the region’s leading leisure and lifestyle destination. Over the past five years, Sentosa has been rejuvenating itself by adding new entertainment attractions, boutique retail and F&B outlets, and quality accommodation choices, to create a truly unique island resort experience for visitors.As a result, the number of visitors to Sentosa has increased significantly - from 3.9 million in 2001 to more than 5.3 million in 2006, with record attendances from both the local and tourist markets.

Over the next few years, we can look forward to more new and exciting projects in Sentosa. These include the completion of about 2,500 luxury residential homes in Sentosa Cove, five new hotels and a 200-yacht marina which is due to open in April 2007. Work has also started at the new S$5.2 billion Resorts World at Sentosa which is expected to open at the end of 2009. This mega development will feature the region’s first Universal Studios theme park, DreamWorks Digital Animation Studios, the world’s largest oceanarium, an exciting water park, and six hotels providing more than 1,800 rooms with meeting and conference facilities.

The Sentosa Express was also recently opened to provide a seamless visitor experience for visitors from the Harbourfront- Mount Faber precinct including VivoCity, St James Power Station, HarbourFront, Singapore Cruise Centre and MountFaber. Seen in its totality, this leisure district has a winning combination of world-class attractions, a wide array of shopping and dining offerings, and quality resort accommodation to sharpen Singapore’s competitive edge as a “must-visit” tourist destination.

Tourism in Singapore

Let me now touch broadly on our tourism sector in Singapore. Tourism in Singapore continues to grow from strength to strength, with new products such as the Songs of the Sea show, helping to sustain the momentum and injecting more excitement into the industry. In 2006, Singapore welcomed a record 9.7 million overseas visitors. This year, the Singapore Tourism Board (STB) aims to achieve 10.2 million visitor arrivals. We have had a good start to the year by welcoming 825,000 visitors in January, a 7.4 per cent increase over the same period last year.If we can maintain this momentum, we will be well on our way to achieving our targets for the year 2007.

Moving forward, STB seeks to capitalise on the increased interest in Singapore as a tourism destination to tap new markets and capture a bigger share of the growing Asia-Pacific tourism pie.I share STB’s confidence that we can sustain and improve on the strong performance of our tourism industry.

Songs of the Sea

The Songs of the Sea show, which is being showcased tonight, is a key $30 million investment by Sentosa to enhance its entertainment product offerings. It is the world’s only permanent show set in the sea - boasting spectacular pyrotechnics displays, a live cast and an open-air viewing gallery which can comfortably accommodate 2,500 visitors.

I have been told that the kelong structures built in the sea behind me are inspired by Sentosa’s history as a fishing community, and this nightly show, which is set in a village, will also enhance audience enjoyment by evoking the power and beauty of several sensory elements.There is no doubt that the Song of the Seas will be an important addition to Singapore’s night time leisure offerings for locals and tourists, and visitors to Sentosa will certainly find it worthwhile extending their stay for this “must-see” waterfront attraction.

Conclusion

In conculsion, I would like to congratulate Sentosa and Mr. Yves Pepin on this successful collaboration, which has brought to fruition the Songs of the Sea. I am confident it will very quickly become one of the top tourist attractions in Singapore.

Thank you.