Singapore Garden Festival wins top award in France

The recently concluded Singapore Garden Festival has won the International Garden Tourism Achievement of the Year award, at the Gardens Without Limits Conference held on Thursday in Metz, France. -- PHOTO: ST FILE
The recently concluded Singapore Garden Festival has won the International Garden Tourism Achievement of the Year award, at the Gardens Without Limits Conference held on Thursday in Metz, France. -- PHOTO: ST FILE

SINGAPORE - The recently concluded Singapore Garden Festival has won the International Garden Tourism Achievement of the Year award, at the Gardens Without Limits Conference held on Thursday in Metz, France.

Awarded by the Canadian Garden Tourism Council, the prize recognises those that have distinguished themselves in promoting garden experiences as a tourist attraction.

The festival, held at Gardens by the Bay in August, edged out other gardens and festivals in Sweden, New Zealand, Britain and Dubai to make it the award's first Asian winner.

The two previous winners were the Royal Horticulture Society Garden Wisley from Britain and the Gardens Without Limits Conference from France.

About 300,000 visitors had packed Gardens by the Bay during the festival to view miniature gardens, more than 2,000 varieties of orchids, and plant structures towering 9m high.

The festival was organised by the National Parks Board and Gardens by the Bay. The Straits Times was its official media partner.

This year was the first time the biennial festival that started in 2006 was held both indoors and outdoors. The festival returns in 2016.

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