Tourist crowds stabilise at NUS and NTU, a year on after tighter visitor rules

SINGAPORE – Growing tourist numbers, which once sparked concerns over overcrowding and safety in the two main universities in Singapore, appear to have eased and stabilised, a year after tighter visitor management measures were introduced.

In response to queries from The Straits Times, both the National University of Singapore (NUS) and Nanyang Technological University (NTU) said that measures introduced to regulate footfall have been effective, while NUS students said their daily campus experience has improved.

On Jan 23, NUS told ST: “Measures introduced over the past two years to manage the seasonal visitor traffic to our Kent Ridge campus have been effective.

“The measures are well-received by staff and students, and visitor feedback has been positive.”

The current stability is a marked improvement from the chaotic situation in 2024, which saw students jostling with visitors in crowded shuttle buses and packed canteens as seasonal waves of tourists descended upon the campuses, especially during peak travel seasons.

The influx of visitors sparked complaints over disruptions to academic activities, and concerns over safety risks caused by tourists flouting traffic rules or entering restricted zones.

The complaints prompted NUS to act: In December 2024, the university mandated that

all visitors planning to tour the campus from Jan 13 to Feb 21, 2025, must register and book a tour group slot

. Those not accompanied by a student ambassador or docent during this period would be asked to leave the campus.

Nearly 400 tour slots were booked between Jan 13 and Feb 7, 2025, alone, with the university training 74 of its students to lead these groups. On the first day of the programme, student ambassadors conducted tours for 271 tourists at University Town (UTown).

In total, 1,200 tour bookings were made during the peak visitor periods of January to February and August to September of 2025, said NUS. It added that about 150 students applied to serve as student ambassadors during the same period.

Other measures included prioritised access for students, staff and invited guests to UTown foodcourts and the university’s internal shuttle bus during peak periods. All buses entering UTown also had to be registered, and student associates were deployed to work alongside security officers in canteens and at bus stops to ensure compliance.

“These measures will be calibrated along the way based on observed visitor volumes and patterns,” NUS said, adding that tour operators and travel agents have been informed about the university’s guidelines, requirements, access restrictions and blackout dates through circulars.

In November, an NUS survey on students’ experience with the internal shuttle bus found that nine in 10 students were satisfied with the shuttle bus experience.

NUS said that ongoing enhancements to its internal shuttle bus service include increasing frequency during high-demand periods such as peak hours, examinations and major campus events, and introducing more bus trips and new routes.

The university is also working closely with stakeholders such as the Land Transport Authority to anticipate and manage student commuting traffic during examination periods.

Across the island, NTU has seen similar success in its management measures.

An NTU spokesperson told The Straits Times in January that its measures, which include requiring travel agencies to obtain prior approval for tours, have “stabilised tourist numbers over the past two years”.

The university has deployed security personnel and student guides to ensure visitors remain in public areas and avoid restricted academic and residential zones.

“Organised tours are not permitted during blackout periods for key university events, such as convocation,” the university added, noting that these steps have ensured a “safe and conducive campus environment”.

When The Straits Times visited UTown on Feb 5 at 12pm, groups of tourists could be seen alighting from buses. There were also smaller visitor groups consisting of parents and their children. The NUS campus tour starts at about $53, according to ticketing website Eventbrite, and as at Feb 5, dates in February are either in high demand or have been sold out.

Student ambassadors from NUS described their experience leading tours as challenging yet meaningful, especially when guiding groups of 20 to 40 individuals at a time. 

For Mr Jeffinson Darmawan, 23, a Year 4 computer engineering and philosophy student, the role involved navigating language barriers and managing expectations.

“When student activities are ongoing and visitors are restricted from roaming without registration, we have to be tactful in informing and educating them,” he said.

The ambassadors were happy to share their experiences as students, learning more about their campus in the process. 

Year 4 political science student Lim Wei Jie, 25, said: “I gained a deeper understanding of the university, exploring parts of NUS I was previously unfamiliar with.

“These experiences strengthened my communication skills and my sense of responsibility in representing the school.”

Both Mr Darmawan and Mr Lim said they observed that the measures put in place have allowed the wider student body to go about their daily routines with less interference. Other NUS students ST spoke to also felt likewise.

Ms Vera Choo, 21, a Year 3 life science student at NUS, said: “I think before NUS took measures to stop tourists from taking the internal shuttle bus, the biggest inconvenience was taking the bus around campus.”

She recalled frustrating experiences in which buses during peak hours – hours before classes start at 10am and 2pm – were crowded with both tourists and students.

Ms Choo noted that while the number of visitors might not have decreased, they are now “regulated” and steered away from canteens and shuttle buses.

A Year 3 student who wished to remain anonymous recalled more chaotic days, including an incident in which a tourist allegedly took a meal meant for students during a residential college orientation.

“The situation was quite bad in UTown... There were tourists in the Yale-NUS (now NUS College) campus, which was a concern since that was for residents only,” the student said.

However, she noted that current canteen checks are “done quite thoroughly”, making the lunchtime rush more manageable.

Mr Gabriel Choo, 21, a Year 1 business artificial intelligence systems student in NUS, said he has had “zero issue” with tourists from the moment he enrolled in August.

“Crowds in busy places like food courts or buses are mostly students... the size of the crowd was still not so big to the point of becoming detrimental.”