From kelong tours to immersive exhibitions:  How the people shaping Singapore’s tourism scene are reimagining visitor experiences

“Are there sharks and dolphins in Singapore waters?”

This was one question tourist guide Robin Loh hadn’t expected from tourists on the Coastal Life Boat Tour he organises.

Questions like these are part of what Loh enjoys about his job – the spontaneous conversations that unfold when visitors discover a side of Singapore they may not have known existed.

Loh is the captain, boatman, guide and storyteller all at once, steering the catamaran as he points out naval vessels and tugboats, stopping to speak to fishermen as they pull in their freshly caught prawns, fish and mussels. There is no scripted itinerary, which keeps the out-at-sea experience authentic.

The tour’s focus on a lesser-seen part of Singapore and turning it into a memorable visitor experience earned it the Experience Excellence Leisure – Outstanding Tour Experience award at the Singapore Tourism Awards 2026.

It was among 24 individuals and organisations recognised by Singapore Tourism Board (STB) for their contributions to Singapore tourism, from creating distinctive visitor experiences to driving enterprise innovation.

Across this year’s winning experiences, familiar parts of Singapore are being reimagined in fresh and memorable ways.

For instance, the newly launched WEAVE at Resorts World Sentosa reframes the idea of shopping, dining and simply hanging out on a tropical island with its unconventional “in-between” environment that features lots of greenery and open-air walkways.

Another winning concept is the ArtScience Museum at Marina Bay Sands. A long-time favourite among tourists and local visitors, the museum experience has been refreshed with ever-evolving interactive displays, gamification concepts and 3D sets so each visit always offers something new.

“The winners demonstrate how our industry continues to raise the bar through deep storytelling, immersive programming and innovative design,” says Kwan Su Min, Director, Communications, STB. “Together, they showcase how Singapore’s tourism experiences are becoming more distinctive and memorable, reinforcing our position as a compelling destination for visitors.”

Getting a different view of Singapore

This is the kind of fresh perspective Let’s Go Tour Singapore hopes to offer.

Over three hours, guests visit two kelongs, including a tilapia farm that uses sustainable processes like collecting food waste to breed black soldier flies which are then used as fish feed.

Here, Loh picks up some tilapia as well as locally farmed mussels, which will be cooked at the Smith Marine Floating Restaurant and served to his passengers. A long-time fan of the fresh, succulent produce from the Straits, he now wants to share this “luxury” with others.

“It makes for a nice, peaceful day out,” says Loh, who co-founded Let’s Go Tour Singapore with Daniel Tan in 2013.

The duo established the company to offer unique tours including cooking, theatrical and cycling ones as they wanted to differentiate themselves and give visitors a fresh point of view of Singapore.

Loh, a fishing and sailing enthusiast, started kelong tours to tap on his own personal contacts with fishermen but he later saw the opportunity to expand these into the longer Coastal Life Boat Tour that would include seafood sampling sessions out at sea.

It was also created to reveal what he calls Singapore’s “rustic, coastal life” – a side that most tourists may not expect to find here. It attracts overseas visitors staying in Singapore for longer periods, particularly those from US, Australia and Europe where there is a boating culture.

But many of his guests are also Singapore residents – families with young children, groups of friends planning a day out or people curious to discover something new about the country they live in.

“We want to show the different facets of Singapore beyond the city and as a whole, whether old or new. It’s usually hard to bring people out of the city and tourists are always surprised that a rustic pocket of life still exists here.”

“The tour is Instagrammable and extraordinary as the visitors get to show that they have done something different in Singapore, with the fishermen and the kelongs.”

Where the visitor is part of an exhibition

The same sense of discovery can also be created by transforming a familiar space into something worth discovering again and again.

At the ArtScience Museum at Marina Bay Sands, visitors are encouraged to do more than look at the exhibits. Interactive elements, lighting and large-scale sets allow them to move through installations and become part of the experience.

“I translate the exhibition concept into experiences that bring the story to life in a physical space,” says Joel Chin, a producer at ArtScience Museum at Marina Bay Sands. “In traditional museums, the work is there and you do not touch it but here, we balance it with interactive elements like games and lighting.”

At the ongoing Into the Ocean: Journey Beneath, a spectrum of blue lighting represents the different layers of the sea, making visitors feel as though they are descending from the surface into its darkest depths.

The museum continually transforms its galleries around different subjects, from human anatomy to a life-sized installation of scenes from popular Studio Ghibli movies.

“When our space is transformed for different exhibitions, it makes our visitors curious, even if they have visited before,” says Chin.

He adds that this contributes to Singapore being a global hub for creativity.

ArtScience Museum received the Special Recognition Top Award for its sustained contribution to Singapore’s tourism landscape and its multidisciplinary approach to storytelling. Its permanent teamLab Future World exhibition has attracted almost five million visitors since opening in 2016.

Each exhibition can take anything from six months to two years to plan and execute by a dynamic team of curators, producers, designers, technicians, marketing communications staff and more.

Says Chin: “We want people to walk away with a message and to expand their knowledge on a subject matter because our audience really matters to us.”

A new way to shop, dine and linger

There are many reasons to visit Sentosa but WEAVE at Resorts World Sentosa wants to give visitors even more impetus to stay longer once they set foot on the island.

“For many visitors to Sentosa, coming here is a deliberate journey. This meant WEAVE at Resorts World Sentosa needed to offer more than something transactional. It had to give people a purpose of visit, and a reason to arrive earlier, linger longer and return,” says Nartano Lim, Vice President of Projects at Resorts World Sentosa.

To do that, WEAVE at Resorts World Sentosa has focused on both how the space feels to spend time in and the mix of brands and experiences visitors can find there. One way it aims to do this is through what Lim calls an “in-between environment” with open-air walkways, greenery and outdoor refreshment zones that complement the holiday vibes on Sentosa.

“WEAVE at Resorts World Sentosa is not a fully enclosed mall but not an exposed outdoor street either. Singapore has built a strong reputation for distinctive biophilic architecture, and we see WEAVE at Resorts World Sentosa as an evolution of that – a place where greenery, climate response, retail and hospitality come together in a way that feels both urban and tropical.”

Its roofing reduces solar heat gain, while natural ventilation, jet fans, weather sensors and cooling systems help make the semi-outdoor space more comfortable so visitors are happy to stay, explore and linger longer.

The shopping and dining destination received the Outstanding Retail Experience award at the Singapore Tourism Awards for its experience-led approach.

For Lim, receiving the award in WEAVE’s first year affirms the team’s vision of creating more than a retail precinct.

“This award encourages us to keep pushing boundaries and creating experiences that are not commonly found elsewhere in Singapore,” he says.

Even when it came to choosing its retail partners, WEAVE at Resorts World Sentosa was deliberate about its mix, which currently includes around 40 brands, among them several new-to-Singapore names which have already drummed up a lot of buzz on social media.

These include Pierre Herme Paris’ first South-east Asian flagship, Michelin-starred chef Paul Pairet’s Moutarde and Sundae Royale, and Korean cult-status bakery Standard Bread.

And for fans of MOLLY, CRYBABY and LABUBU, WEAVE at Resorts World Sentosa is also home to the long-awaited POP BAKERY where they can look forward to mascot appearances, Singapore-exclusive products and desserts inspired by POP MART cartoon characters.

It is this mix of new concepts and fresh experiences that keeps familiar places feeling different. The result is a destination that can still surprise, even on a return visit.

Discover how you can play a part in shaping Singapore tourism, creating memorable experiences for visitors.