SMS S. Iswaran's reply to Parliament Questions on the affordability of local tourist attractions for the average Singaporean

Question No. 757 of Notice Paper No. 219 of 2008

Name and Constituency of Member of Parliament
Mr. Zaqy Mohamad, MP for Hong Kah GRC

Question
To ask the Minister for Trade and Industry (a) whether there has been an assessment of the affordability of local tourist attractions for the average Singaporean; and (b) whether the Ministry will consider providing more concessions to make our tourist attractions more affordable to students and families during school holidays, especially for those from the lower income households.

Answer
Singapore has a wide range of tourism offerings that cater to both foreign and local visitors, from paid-access themed attractions to free access heritage sites and parks.

The admission charges for paid-access attractions are determined by market forces. They are dependent on the individual attractions' costs, marketing goals and target audience. Each must find its own balance between price, attendance and financial objectives. For instance, the Science Centre and National Museum charge $6 and $10 respectively for adults, whereas the Singapore Zoo and Singapore Flyer charge about $20.00 and $30.00 respectively. Generally, the attractions impose a lower admission fee for children and students and special rates are also available for family admission at some attractions. So, we have the Friends of the Zoo membership card which allows 2 adults and 3 children admission all year round for a fee of about $150.

Some also offer promotions over the holidays and some examples are the Singapore Underwater World, as well the Singapore Discovery Centre and Escape Theme Park. In addition, there are many attractions that require minimal or no admission charges. There are no admission charges for key tourist attractions like the Botanic Gardens, Singapore River, Merlion Park, Mount Faber, Orchard Road and Chinatown.

STB has compared Singapore’s admission rates for themed attractions against comparable quality attractions in other global cities. By and large, our rates remain competitive. For a family of four, a visit to the Singapore Zoo costs S$50, whereas it costs £49 (about S$125) in London, or A$155 (about S$180) in Queensland Australia for a similar visit.

Going forward, STB will continue to work towards growing our suite of tourist attractions. As part of their overall business and marketing plan, all our tourist attractions will have to continue to pay close attention to their affordability and accessibility to local visitors who are key to ensuring their continued viability.