Free admission to Sentosa from Saturday till end of June
Promotion from Saturday is part of efforts to boost visitorship and help businesses, which can also defer 50% of rent payments
Visitors to Sentosa will enjoy free admission from Saturday through the end of June as part of efforts to boost local visitorship and prop up business on the resort island, which has been hard hit by the tourist slowdown.
Sentosa Development Corporation (SDC), which announced last month that admission will be waived during the March school holidays, said yesterday it will extend the free admission until June 30 to encourage more local residents to visit.
Businesses on the island will also be allowed to defer 50 per cent of their rental payments from April to June and repay it in interest-free instalments over 12 months, SDC said.
The measures, which are part of the $4 billion Stabilisation and Support Package for businesses and workers announced in this year's Budget, follow feedback from tenants on business sentiment, it said.
More promotions, including hotel and attraction packages, will also be rolled out across the island this month, said SDC, a statutory board under the Ministry of Trade and Industry.
SDC chief executive Quek Swee Kuan said last month that businesses on the island had reported a drop in visitorship and sales of between 20 per cent and 50 per cent.
Island admission ranges from $2 to $6, while entry is free for those who enter through the Sentosa Boardwalk.
The rental deferment scheme may be extended to tenants of other government agencies, depending on how badly they have been impacted by the virus, Senior Minister of State for Trade and Industry Chee Hong Tat said during a visit to Sentosa yesterday.
DROP IN TOURIST ARRIVALS
The Singapore Tourism Board has projected a drop of up to 30 per cent in tourist arrivals for the year amid the global spread of the coronavirus.
Mr Luke Johnson, general manager of bungee jump attraction AJ Hackett, said that it has seen a 50 per cent drop in customers in recent weeks, with locals making up an increasing share of visitors.
Capella Singapore, which famously hosted the Trump-Kim summit in 2018, has not been spared as travel restrictions and fewer tourist arrivals have hurt business, said Ms Kwee Wei-Lin, senior vice-president for hotels at Pontiac Land Group, which owns Capella.
"Fortunately on weekends we do get staycations, so we're very thankful for the Singaporeans who have been coming to stay at our hotels," she said.
Resorts World Sentosa told The Straits Times it will be rolling out several promotions aimed at locals this month, including free all-day parking and dining vouchers for visitors to Universal Studios Singapore, Adventure Cove Waterpark and the S.E.A. Aquarium.
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