Mr. Kwek Leng Beng,
Executive Chairman, Hong Leong Group

Mr. Miguel Ko,
President, Asia-Pacific for Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc.,

Your Excellencies,

Distinguished guests,

Ladies and gentlemen,

1. Singapore is excited to be the home of the first St. Regis Hotel in South-East Asia. I commend the owners of the hotel for their vision in bringing this fine name in hospitality to Singapore, a name that has been synonymous with the hospitality industry for over a century.

2. The opening of St. Regis reflects your confidence in the tourism industry here. This confidence is well founded. Last year our tourist arrivals hit a record 10.3 million, resulting in tourism receipts of $13.8 billion. The average occupancy rate for the hotel sector reached 87% from January to December 2007, and total room revenue rose 23% over 2006 to reach S$1.8 billion.

3. It can only get better. With strong economic fundamentals and a quality living environment, Singapore is fast transforming into a vibrant global city. We are a city abound with economic opportunities -- a key manufacturing, logistics, research and business hub for Asia and beyond – and powered by a globalized workforce. And the world is noticing this change. Mercer Human Resource Consulting has ranked Singapore as Asia’s Number 1 place to live, work and play. Monocle, a London-based news-and-lifestyle magazine, ranks Singapore among the Top 20 Liveable cities in 2007. Early this year, we were listed among the top 20 global vibrant cities for the first time in the 2008 Hub Culture Zeitgeist Cities Ranking.

4. Singapore is a unique tourism destination. It is a city where East meets West, that is diverse in culture yet stable, harmonious as well as modern and efficient. The Government remains committed to position our city as one of the most exciting and sophisticated tourism destinations. We aim to do so in a number of ways. First, remake and rejuvenate key areas of our city and make available more opportunities for new tourism products. Second, anchor events in Singapore that can add buzz and diversity to our city. Third, build capacity to support our tourism development.

Rejuvenation of Singapore City

5. We have embarked on a comprehensive rejuvenation of Singapore several years ago. Today, we are witnessing the exciting makeover of Singapore, a new renaissance, following the successful implementation of many of these plans.

6. Orchard Road is a prime example. The vision for Orchard Road is for it to be one of the greatest shopping streets in the world, a pulse for fashion and all things hip and happening. To realize this vision, the Government has committed S$40 million to enhance Orchard Road’s landscape and infrastructure. The improvements will include the upgrading of pedestrian walkways, street furniture, signages and street lighting. Incentives like façade articulation and the Orchard Road Development Commission are also available. This will encourage rejuvenation and redevelopment of existing developments and reward refreshing business concepts, which could potentially lead to interesting architecture, quality public spaces, good pedestrian linkage and other bold creative ideas. We want to make Orchard Road one of the premier shopping streets in the world.

7. This vision for Orchard Road is fast becoming reality. This new St. Regis is one of the many new developments that are taking place along Orchard Road. The Government has actively injected new GLS sites for developments like ION Orchard, Somerset Central and Orchard Central. They will add more retail diversity and critical mass, as well as new public spaces and pedestrian linkages.

8. Beyond the city centre, we are also making available opportunities for new tourism products. In the Jurong Lake District plans that were recently unveiled, we have earmarked Jurong Lakeside to become a major leisure destination. There are plans for four or five new edutainment attractions targeted at families with young children, in addition to the existing attractions of the Jurong Bird Park, Chinese and Japanese Gardens. Lakeside will be a new waterfront playground offering leisure options and greenery. It will have a mix of complementary retail, F&B, hotel and other lifestyle developments.

Singapore as a Destination for Mega Events

9. Over the years, Singapore has consolidated our position as a major venue for MICE events. In the latest rankings by the Union of International Associations, Singapore takes the first place as Asia’s Top Country for Meetings and holds the title for Asia’s Top City for Meetings. Last year, Singapore played host to some 5,000 events in the MICE sector.

10. We have also achieved great success in positioning Singapore as a premier destination for major events. The Singapore cityscape will become even more vibrant and exciting as we gear up to host the 2008 Formula 1™ SingTel Singapore Grand Prix, and major world events such as the inaugural Youth Olympic Games. Singapore was also confirmed as the first South East Asian stopover city in the Volvo Ocean Race 2008-9.

Building Capacity

11. With the expected increase in tourist arrivals, there will be a need for us to build greater capacity, both hardware and software, to support the industry. The Government is committed to set aside enough land parcels to support the development of hotels. In the first half of 2008, we have made available 12 sites for hotel development, which can potentially yield another 6,000 rooms, to respond to the higher demand for rooms. And hotel developers have responded. In 2007, about 1,000 hotel rooms were added, and we project a further increase of some 12,000 rooms in the next three to four years as new hotels and the Integrated Resorts open.

12. In terms of software, the Singapore Tourism Board (STB) and the Workforce Development Agency (WDA) have also launched a Tourism Talent Plan last year, to upgrade the skills of the tourism industry workforce. Under the plan, $360 million has been committed over three years to train 74,000 tourism industry workers.

Conclusion

13. These developments and efforts will place Singapore firmly on track to achieve our Tourism 2015 goals of $30 billion in tourism receipts and 17 million visitor arrivals. The opening of St. Regis tonight is yet another milestone. We look forward to working hand in hand with the industry to create a new tourism renaissance for Singapore.

14. I would like to congratulate the Chairman and Board of Directors of City Developments Limited, Hong Leong Holdings Limited, TID Pte Ltd, as well as the team from Starwood Hotels and Resorts on the official opening of this magnificent new hotel, The St. Regis Singapore. I wish all of you involved in it every success in creating and maintaining a truly world-class hotel for Singapore. It is now my pleasure to declare The St. Regis Singapore officially open.

>>back to top