Ravi Philemon >> TOC Lifestyle
Singapore has been listed alongside cities in America and Europe as one of the “top (ten) cities” to visit in 2010 by Lonely Planet – an internationally acclaimed travel guide.
The publication “The Best in Travel 2010″ is Lonely Planet’s fifth annual collection of best places to go and best things to do in the year ahead. Published this week”, it asks its readers to “ditch the image of Singapore as a dull, sterile Utopia – (to) scratch the surface and…discover a strange brew of Chinese, Malay, Indian and Western cultures, a rich social stew that’s anything but boring”.
The Online Citizen asked Singapore Tourism Board (STB) how STB felt about Singapore being listed alongside other vibrant cities like Istanbul (Turkey), Vancouver (Canada), Charleston (USA) and Kyoto (Japan) and if this listing will help to bring in more visitors to Singapore.
Mr Chang Chee Pey, STB’s Director of Brand Management responded to TOC’s questions saying, “To be named one of the top ten cities to visit in 2010 by reputed travel guru Lonely Planet is telling of Singapore growing into a global city with a variety of world class tourism offerings. The Singapore Tourism Board (STB) hopes this will encourage more potential visitors to come experience Singapore for themselves, especially in 2010, when Singapore will host mega events such as the Singapore 2010 Youth Olympic Games and the FORUMLA ONE SINGAPORE GRAND PRIX, and celebrate the opening of integrated resorts Resorts World Sentosa and Marina Bay SandsTM.”
The cities in the Lonely Planet’s top ten besides Singapore are: Cuenca (Ecuador), Sarajevo (Bosnia & Hercegovina), Abu Dhabi (United Arab Emirates), Kyoto (Japan), Lecce (Italy), Cork (Ireland), Vancouver (Canada), Istanbul (Turkey), and Charleston (USA). If this listing will entice more tourists to visit Singapore, it will surely bring much cheer to the economy of Singapore, which is already showing signs of picking-up.
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Lonely Planet guides have been getting worse and worse.
Their “city” guides, compared to “country” guides, are terrible.
Maybe it has to do with them being bought over by Discovery Channel, otherwise known as the “Couch Entertainment Channel”.
Sure, Singapore is “interesting” to “visit” as a “city”, but if I had 6 months to live and had to choose places to see money being no object, Singapore for sure would not be on the list.
Is there a trademark where we MUST CAP THAT FORMULA ONE THING? haha.
I’ve said it before and I will say it again.
Singapore’s a great place to visit so as long as you aren’t Singaporean.
Hi,
Let’s give credit where credit is due.
Singapore is a nice place to visit ( and to live).
Despite its blemishes and imperfections, there are many things about it that make us want to stay put.
I am not one to pick out and just talk about its deficiencies.
Great news.
Yeah, i think its great too that Singapore is on the list.
I’ve been living away from Singapore for a few years now, and every time i’m back, i’m amazed by the changes.
we’re not perfect, nor are we the best, but the energy i feel when i visit tokyo or london, i start to feel the vibe when i go home.
Let’s hope we take this listing to drive singapore to do even better, and be less uptight on many things.
We’re not perfect, but we’ve got a vibe coming up.
It’s a good place to enjoy some of the finer things in life, in an urban setting.
Aygee’s right when he/she talks abt the energy..
I’ve lived abroad for several years and Singapore surprises me everytime I come back to visit. It’s a lovely, ever-changing city and a beautiful microcosm of Asia. Sure, we’re not perfect like every other city, but it’s interesting! <3 Sgp.
What many tourist usually say of Singapore: It is a nice place to visit but I wouldn’t want to live here.
Of course Singapore is a nice place for tourists. All the citizens are made to work like slaves to cater to their needs.
How else would you explain the mass exodus of locals for greener pastures in the west.
Timbuktu and the north pole are also nice places to visit too…but I wouldn’t want to live there.
yeah!! our country has finally been transform into disney land with death penalty..We’ll do any thing for foreign trash while singaporeans are swept aside…
well done PAP..full credits to our founding emperor Lee
Ah Ha!! that can’t be true. sometime back, lonely planet reported that a large numbe of its authors wrote lp travel guides without ever visiting the place!
It is more boring than a desert and worse Singaporeans have to work and work day in day out till they die.
Sad, SAd and SAD.
patriot
a nice place to visit? or a safe place to visit?
in singapoor..the only good thinggie you see is NO beggars/street urchins houndin you for handouts..although we still hav the tissues ladies who tryin to sell you a tissue to choop the hawker seat/table…
when i was in oversea in towns liked boatquays and orchard roads..i see no differences whether its starbucks or holiday inns…the only differences i can sensed and feel is when i asked for the check/bill.. this is where i see limsiasuayed many zeros come into effect..for every meal/drink i spent in singapoor …i could get double portion/drinks as well in another vibrant city in another asean country..let alone the girls walkin by….
by the way.. how much you expect to pay for a taxi ride if you need a 7 seater from the budget terminal to angmokio? try $36 for a start..compared ours with bangkok or manila…
Sure, it’s a nice place to visit for only a few days but definitely not a place to live in permanently.
I have this Shanghai friend who paid a 4-day visit to Singapore. He was on a “recce” mission as he intended to send his young daughter here for studies. His 1st encounter with a nice taxi driver who refused his payment after he drove my friend to a place nearby made such a lasting impression that he decided to send his daughter here.
Years passed and his daughter had graduated and married a fellow Chinese here and both obtained PR status. My friend and his wife joined his daughter here for a 6-mth stay.
This is where his impression of a “wonderful” Singapore changed. Not long after his daughter and son-in-law bought a resale flat which they are also staying in, they were harrased by loan sharks. The previous owner happened to have borrowed from the loan sharks and have sold the flat to escape from the loan sharks. My friend and his family became the unknowing victims. Police reports were made but they were told unless the police can catch the paint splashers red handed, they cannot do anything at all.
He has since told his daughter that Singapore is not a place for them to settle down and is preparing to return to Shanghai.
It’s one thing to visit and another thing to live permanently. I used to look forward to spending my retirement here, but not any more. I could not keep up with the cost of living here, and i found the cosmetic changes around me surreal and artificial. It’s a city for the rich and mighty, but for a middle class reitiree like me, I feel suffocated by the relentless march upwards of living costs and the human jam wherever I go. I am encouraging my sons to get jobs overseas and maybe immigrate and bringing me along. Simply, I need space and peace of mind.
Sadly I could not get these in my own country where I was born and bred.
The internet age has shrank the world, we do not need to stay forever in the land of our birth. I hope to explore outside.
The program is not sponsored by anything right?
The program is not produced by singaporean right?
The program is not from a media company operating in singapore right?
The program is not in any way linked to singapore authorities right?
Singapore is just a shopping mall. Vibe?? What vibe?? Oh you mean the vibrations when earthquakes hit Indonesia..
Yes a place to visit , not to live.
I can travel from one point to another point , joo koon to changi airport ( in 1 hour plus).
What to see, shopping malls, casinos, hawker centres, cinemas.
All the same.
You can experience all of singapore’s attractions in a matter of days.
The zoo, birdpark,science centre,the flyer.
Come here and spend your money on commericalised heritage tours. See some statues of Merlion at the marina bay and sentosa.
yes that’s right Singapore Boy, 1 hour from point to point, all the same to see. A few days and we’re done in Hotel Singapore.
oh.. no wonder Law Minister Shamugam himself said Singapore is “not a country” http://theonlinecitizen.com/2009/10/singapore-neither-a-nation-nor-a-country-ministers/
I am sure the recent videos about ingapore from the cable channel .??? is not paid by anyone but the cable channel itself right?
Kumar is very entertaining.
http://www.lonelyplanet.com/singapore#video-ltv-F5A014EF41E3CA39
or maybe they can visit ZoukOut 2009 on December 12, 2009
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9s8FeVleQos&feature=fvw
Ya the foreigners should go to Kumar’s show to find out how this is a bullsh_t democracy (with free racism on the side): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BfVpwvkgaUw
You know what, i’d like to visit places like North Korea, Iran…etc too! I’m sure i’ll have once-in-a-lifetime experiences! But to stay there?? Not even if you cut off my arm!
My all favourite quote of Singapore is that “It has the ambiance of a supermarket aisle.”
My contention was not about Singapore being nice to visit (I ike to visit cities as anyone else ) or nice to live in (a lot of ppl I know give up something tp get safety and a warm weather), but I cannot fathom how it can make it to the top 10 without some green push from STB: Singapore has little history or culture (pardon me for being blunt)
I expect the tourism minister to say that Sinkapoor
is so unique, since it is not a city but a fishing village,
it cannot be ranked/compared to the real cities of the
world. Or will it be the law minister again?
Lonely planet is the worst, my friend from germany bought it when coming to visit me in China and the book said not to wear anything white because it symbolizes death in China…yea if it was the 18th century… a lot of the information was completely nuts and wrong – overall she said it was better not having the book at all.