Speech by MOS Alvin Tan at the Southern Islands Initiatives Media Preview

Introduction

1. Good morning everyone – our hosts, members of the media, ladies and gentlemen.

2. I visited Lazarus Island with my kids just before the pandemic hit, and it was such a wonderful experience. Coming back here, the island is still very pristine and has retained its rustic feel.

3. When we visited, we wanted to share with our children the waters, the beach and also about the ecology and keeping it pristine. We bagged up our trash to take away with us but other than that, we take nothing but photographs.

New Offerings

4. In the last couple of years, we have seen a few enhancements to across the Southern Islands, and in particular, Lazarus Island.

5. One is of course, the Tiny Away Escape tiny homes and we now have five of them here. I am very much looking forward to experiencing them although I understand that there is very high demand for these rooms, with barbeque grills and a high-tech food waste management system. Thank you for staying true to your mission in maintaining a very small footprint here at Lazarus Island.

6. Another new offering is the convenience store, Sol by BDC. This is a welcome addition for visitors to the island, who can get items such as sun block and enjoy interesting food offerings like cheese platters.

7. We also have a sea sports centre operated by the Camelot team, with non-motorised sports such as paddleboarding and kayaking. They are also making sure that they leave tiny footprints, such a launching off from one area to minimise the impact to the seabed.

8. We expect more offerings, including “glamping” with unobstructed seas views, by Into the Woods, at the end of this year. I am very much looking forward to experiencing what you have instore for us.

9. All of these are part of SDC’s Sustainability Roadmap which we launched two years ago. The core of it and how it applies to the Southern Islands allows many of us, together with family and friends, to stay close to nature.

10. Visitors can also refer to the new “Discover the Southern Islands” e-guide, for useful tips. For example, there are many macaques around. What do you do when you encounter wildlife – how do you determine if the macaque is smiling or yawning or being a bit aggressive? It also shows you how to leave tiny footprints as you make your way around the island.

11. What SDC is doing to manage the impact on the environment and biodiversity, is to consult many of our wildlife and nature groups, such as Friends of Marine Park (FMP). Thank you for sharing and working very closely with SDC to make sure we keep our footprints as small as possible. These are small but important aspects of what we are doing here at Lazarus Island.

12. Finally, we want to engender a sense of preservation and conservation, even as demand for eco-tourism starts to rise. We want to become a green destination for locals and tourists who are visiting, and make Lazarus Island and the other Southern Islands palatable for eco-tourists and eco-travellers.

Conclusion

13. Congrats SDC and all of our partners here. I look forward to experiencing everything Lazarus Island and the rest of the Southern Islands have to offer!

14. Thank you.