SINGAPORE – The Republic is set to get another two world-class attractions – a wellness attraction in the Marina Bay precinct by 2030 and a Porsche Experience Centre in Changi by 2027.

There will be a call for tender for the development of the wellness attraction located in Marina South, close to the Marina Barrage, which “can leverage the waterfront and places of interest in the vicinity”, said Ms Grace Fu, Minister for Sustainability and the Environment and Minister-in-charge of Trade Relations, on May 10.

“With the rising demand for more restorative and wellness-related experiences, we want to position Singapore as an urban wellness haven,” said Ms Fu, speaking at the Singapore Tourism Board’s (STB) Tourism Industry Conference at the Sands Expo and Convention Centre.

STB chief executive Melissa Ow noted that the global wellness market hit US$5.2 trillion (S$7 trillion) in 2022 and is projected to grow to almost US$8 trillion in 2028, adding that there is tremendous potential for Singapore to tap.

She said that the tender will be launched in the coming months.

“We are hoping this is an attraction that will be able to offer a myriad of wellness experiences including therapeutic arts, light- and frequency-based therapies, complementary health facilities, and indoor and outdoor water- or equipment-based types of fitness experiences.”

When asked how the attraction will differentiate itself from offerings in wellness and resort destinations like Bali and Phuket, Ms Ow said STB is mindful that Singaporeans and visitors are familiar with many different types of wellness experiences in many other destinations.

“However, this is a large-format development, and one which is within the context of Singapore as an urban destination,” she noted. “It will play to our strength of convenience, as well as have a very replete set of offerings related to lifestyle and leisure.”

STB deputy chief executive Yap Chin Siang told The Straits Times that the attraction is expected to occupy 4ha of land, or the size of six to seven football fields.

STB is doubling down on wellness-related developments and events. 

The third edition of the Wellness Festival Singapore, which will take place from June 21 to July 21, will feature over 120 programmes from more than 75 partners, including established and new wellness, lifestyle and hotel brands. The programmes include fitness and meditation workshops and art-related events.

Separately, a tender has been called for wellness and fitness lifestyle proposals for Dempsey, and the closing date is May 29.

Porsche Experience Centre in Changi

Singapore is also set to get its own Porsche Experience Centre in Changi by 2027. The centre will join the likes of iconic motor racing venues such as Silverstone in Britain and Hockenheimring in Germany.

Located next to Changi Exhibition Centre, about 20 minutes’ drive from Changi Airport, it will be South-east Asia’s first experience centre by the German carmaker, and the first in the world that will serve a region.

Singapore’s version will feature a 2km handling track, a Porsche aftersales facility and a range of experiences suitable for the whole family, such as themed exhibitions and immersive racing simulators.

In other centres, visitors are typically able to book activities ranging from being driven around the track by a professional instructor, to coaching sessions. More details will be given in the lead-up to the Singapore centre’s opening.

The fleet of two- and four-door Porsche cars at the centre will prominently feature a significant number of electric vehicles, in line with the Singapore Green Plan 2030 aimed at advancing sustainable development.

This will be Porsche’s 11th experience centre. Others are found in major cities in Europe, North America and Asia such as Shanghai, Tokyo and Los Angeles. 

“We are excited that Porsche has chosen Singapore, and we hope that the centre will dial up the fun quotient and add vibrancy to the Changi precinct,” said Ms Fu.

The Changi Exhibition Centre is where the biennial Singapore Airshow is held. Porsche’s Asia-Pacific chief executive Hannes Ruoff told ST that the centre “will be set up in a way that both the air show and the centre can coexist and complement each other”. The centre can be used as a hospitality area and parking space during the air show, he said.

Bullish forecasts for 2024

STB is bullish about 2024 and has updated its forecasts after a strong 2023 performance – which had tourism receipts coming in at $27.2 billion. This exceeded STB’s forecast of $24.5 billion to $26 billion, and almost equalled the figures before the Covid-19 pandemic.

International visitor arrivals in 2023 hit 13.6 million, falling within the forecasted 12 million to 14 million.

“This year, STB is projecting between 15 million and 16.5 million international visitor arrivals, and we expect tourism receipts to reach between $27.5 billion and $29 billion,” said Ms Ow.

“This is no mean feat, as the upper bound of our tourism receipts projection, if achieved, will be a new record for Singapore tourism.”

Before the pandemic struck, 2019 was a record year for Singapore, with the country raking in $27.7 billion in tourism receipts and drawing 19.1 million visitors.

Ms Ow attributed the optimistic projections for 2024 to the strong 2023 performance, coupled with the pace of resumption in global travel, and conditions across Singapore’s key markets.

For instance, the recovery of global flight connectivity and capacity has meant that flight capacities for some of Singapore’s top source markets, such as China, India and South Korea, have exceeded pre-Covid-19 flight capacities as of the first week of May.

Visitor arrivals in 2024 have already shown strong signs of recovery.

From January to April, Singapore had 5.7 million international visitors. This was about 90 per cent of the number in the same period in 2019.

“Arrivals from more than half of our top 15 markets have fully recovered or exceeded pre-pandemic levels, with Malaysia, Germany, Australia and the UK showing the strongest recovery,” said Ms Fu.

“We also saw encouraging signs from China where arrivals recovered to 80 per cent of pre-pandemic levels,” she added, noting that the numbers were boosted by the festive holidays and the implementation of the visa exemption in February.

 A 30-day mutual visa exemption between Singapore and China took effect on Feb 9, before the Chinese New Year holidays.

Ms Fu attributed the strong performance in the first four months of 2024 to “a series of blockbuster events and concerts”. These include the Singapore Airshow, which drew a record crowd of nearly 60,000 trade visitors in four days, as well as a string of concerts by international superstars like Coldplay and Taylor Swift.

“These events attracted a large number of local and foreign attendees, and generated much buzz for Singapore,” she said.

According to Ms Ow, the Taylor Swift Eras Tour drew more than 300,000 fans from here and around the region during its run of six shows.

Global campaigns and partnerships

STB has also been marketing Singapore to the world, via a Made in Singapore brand campaign that has covered a range of efforts, from 3D billboards in high-traffic areas like New York’s Times Square and Shanghai’s Xintiandi, to engagement of key influencers and celebrities such as former Formula One world champion driver Jenson Button and American pop star Nicole Scherzinger to showcase unique experiences in Singapore.

This is alongside a push to position Singapore as the world’s best Mice (meetings, incentives, conventions and exhibitions) destination.

STB has also inked several partnerships to draw visitors.

It is working with two major South Korean media industry players to film more shows in Singapore. The Republic’s landmarks and attractions will be featured in popular dating reality show My Sibling’s Romance.

STB has also signed a two-year partnership with India’s largest payment platform PhonePe so that visitors from India can use the PhonePe app to make payments to more than 8,000 merchants here.

6 upcoming events and attractions:

• The World Of Studio Ghibli immersive exhibition at the ArtScience Museum, celebrating some of the studio’s most iconic animation films (last quarter of 2024)
• The Harry Potter: Visions Of Magic interactive and immersive experience at Resorts World Sentosa (last quarter of 2024)
• Singapore Oceanarium at Resorts World Sentosa, which is triple the size of the S.E.A Aquarium (2024)
• Minion Land at Universal Studios Singapore (USS), including a world-first and original ride, exclusive to USS (2024)
• Mandai Rainforest Resort, an eco-resort by luxury hotel chain Banyan Tree (first half of 2025)
• Rainforest Wild park in Mandai, Singapore’s fifth wildlife park (opening to be announced)