GROWING SINGAPORE'S TOURISM SPACE

SCOTTISH couple Thomas and Wilma Guild had their holiday in Bintan cut short recently when they fell into a monsoon drain and had to spend two weeks in the Singapore General Hospital.

Their story, reported in The Straits Times, was about the excellent service and quality of medical treatment they subsequently experienced in Singapore. Mrs Guild quipped: "For foreigners travelling, if they must fall ill or have an accident, I recommend they do it here in Singapore and get their treatment at SGH."

But what was also interesting was the reminder of Bintan's part in the larger tourism picture here.

The Guilds, well-to-do retirees, had spent four days in Singapore before heading to Bintan for an eight-night stay. After that, they were planning to stay five more nights in Singapore before returning to Glasgow. Given that the average length of stay for visitors to Singapore is 3.3 days, why did the Guilds plan such a long stay?

Possibly because Singapore and Bintan together offer an enticing combination of urban and tropical-resort Asia - an experience that may not be obvious to most Singaporeans.

Singapore does not have the pristine beaches that Bintan has in abundance. Even easily accessible Sentosa, with its crammed calendar of events, offers a less idyllic, mass-market experience.

Of course, Singapore still remains an important market for Bintan's leisure facilities. For the hotels and spas along its northern coast, for example, this is especially true during the weekends. But increasingly, Bintan Resorts, a joint Indonesia-Singapore company that represents various tourism properties along that stretch of the island, is marketing itself to an international audience.

Today, 70 per cent of Bintan Resorts' guests are from abroad, with major markets being Japan, South Korea and the United Kingdom, compared with 50 per cent a few years ago.

Nearly all of these visitors fly in to Changi Airport, then board a high-speed ferry at the Tanah Merah terminal for Bintan. They are also likely to spend a day or two in Singapore before or after their Bintan sojourn.

The Singapore Tourism Board certainly realises how Bintan adds to the diversity of our tourism products. Its international offices often work with travel agents there to sell Bintan as a complementary product to Singapore. The board also routinely sponsors media and travel trade visits to Bintan as an extension to these visitors' stay in Singapore.

Other city destinations too leverage on the complementary strength of their neighbours to enhance their own appeal. Hong Kong, for example, showcases Macau's rich heritage and the Pearl River Delta's natural attractions in its marketing efforts.

But Bintan's star has not been shining as brightly these past few years. After a burst of construction activity and much publicity in the 1990s, no new resort has been built since the last hotel development, Angsana Resort, opened in 2000.

Investors were spooked by the Asian financial crisis, the Sept 11, 2001, terror attacks, Sars and the Indian Ocean tsunami - events that also affected visitor arrivals.

During those turbulent times, one of the resorts, Bintan Lagoon Resort, went into receivership and its ownership changed hands.

But as the global economy picks up, the climate for growth surely has improved. Singapore's upcoming integrated resorts will also mean more potential visitors.

The managing director of tourism consultancy MasterConsult Services, Mr Christopher Khoo, said: "Even if it is not the flavour of the month, I think Bintan fulfils its purpose as a beach destination that is close to Singapore. On top of the usual holiday-makers, it also attracts a golf crowd and corporate meetings. It just needs critical mass, more investment and integrated planning to move to the next level."

Certainly, there is room for physical expansion. The seven hotels that Bintan Resorts represents offer more than 1,300 rooms, and there are four championship golf courses and five spas. But over 90 per cent of land managed by the company remains undeveloped.

As visitor numbers grow from this year's target of 330,000 visitors, the current facilities that Bintan offers will likely prove inadequate, especially by 2010, when Singapore's two integrated resorts open to a projected 17 million visitors.

Fortunately, plans for developing Bintan, specifically its Lagoi Bay area, are afoot. Unlike previous land sales, which were in large parcels of 300ha to 400ha, it is said that new land sales, likely by year end, will be in lots as small as half a hectare.

These lots can be used for commercial or even residential developments. This flexibility should attract investors and generate more jobs for Singaporeans and Indonesians alike.

But there are other issues, one of which is cost. Prices at the hotels and restaurants are now pegged to those in Singapore. Hopefully, as more facilities open, prices will edge down, and this will attract more repeat visits. Another suggestion is for Singapore's tourism and investment facilitation agencies to be more actively engaged. Apart from exploring how local hoteliers can expand into Bintan, Singapore investors should be the catalyst for innovative products, be they eco-tourism parks, high-tech marinas or beachfront retail outlets.

While Singaporeans' spending in Bintan technically represents a loss of foreign exchange for the country, local companies such as SembCorp Industries and Ascendas are major shareholders of Bintan Resorts' parent company, Gallant Venture. Gallant is listed on the Singapore Exchange, and Bintan Resorts' marketing and promotion arm, Island Leisure International, is a Singapore-registered company.

Tourism development aside, industry players and government agencies need also to be cognisant of the social responsibilities concomitant with economic change.

There are apparently still rumblings of dissatisfaction among local Bintan residents. According to a paper published by academics at the National University of Singapore's Geography Department earlier this year, these revolve around longstanding unhappiness over land compensation and the fact that jobs in the resorts have tended to go to trained personnel from other parts of Indonesia rather than displaced residents. Although these appear to be not completely resolved, there have been positive signs of outreach to the community.

As cities compete for talent and positive top-of-mind brand awareness, Singapore should see how it can deepen its partnership with Bintan in ways that will benefit both parties.

Going forward, one should be wary of repeating the hype that characterised Bintan's initial years of development. But having said that, collaboration remains the one sensible way to grow Singapore's tourism pie, and Bintan may prove to be the crucial ingredient in that pie.