PICTURES: ISTOCK
DESTINATIONS ASIA
Palawan Beach, Sentosa Island
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always been the perfect
stopover destination but
with a constant stream of exciting
new experiences our visitors
now have plenty of reasons to
stay longer.”
Twin-centre breaks
Indeed, the city-state makes a
great choice for a twin-centre break
with one of the many great beach
destinations in the region.
In its Asia programme, Hayes
and Jarvis combines Singapore
with locations such as Koh Samui
in Thailand, Bali in Indonesia and
Langkawi in Malaysia.
Regional product and contacts
manager for the Far East Andrea
Loddo said: “Singapore is a great
hub – a modern, culturally diverse
city with a huge range of contrasting
sights. Contrary to reputation, it
needs to be given more time and
not treated as a stopover, which is
what is increasingly happening
with our clients.
“The growing demand means
we’ve expanded the range in
Singapore to cater for all budgets
and accommodation tastes.”
Virgin Holidays product manager
Far East Margaret Oliver said: “We
off er a variety of trips to Singapore
from city breaks in the heart of the
action, through to the relative calm
FIND
OUT
MORE
See
visitsingapore.
com and
stb.gov.sg
of Sentosa’s resorts. Our packages
are fl exible so travellers can
combine a stay in this fabulous city
with a wide variety of destinations.”
Virgin’s most popular option
is a stopover en route to or from Bali,
but it is seeing increasing demand
for breaks twinned with Thailand
and Hong Kong, as well as the beach
resorts of Dubai and Australia – and
for Singapore as a destination in its
own right.
“It ticks a lot of boxes: great food,
history, excellent shopping and a
vibrant mix of cultures, all in one
destination,” said Oliver.
Over at Tropical Locations, whose
most popular Singapore twincentre
option is Langkawi,
group head of product
David Kevan said: “In terms
of quality, it is outstanding,
very easy on the eye and
probably the best introduction
to the region for the fi rst-time
Asia client.
“There is little that is
frightening or intimidating and
the restaurant scene is probably
the most varied in the area,
with many al fresco options.”
Carrier, meanwhile, is seeing
an increase in UK visitors
travelling on the Eastern and
Oriental Express train out
of Singapore.
Top right: The
Fullerton hotel
was converted
from an offi ce
building in 2001.
Bottom right:
Sample the
varied cuisine
such as chicken
rendang
Getting there and around
Last month Qantas announced plans
to increase its Airbus A380 services
between the UK and Australia via
Singapore to fi ve fl ights per week
from June 8, fl ying on Mondays,
Wednesdays, Fridays, Saturdays
and Sundays. Singapore Airlines,
meanwhile, celebrated carrying its
one millionth A380 passenger on
the route last month.
As befi ts such a modern and
diminutive destination, getting
around is easy on the super effi cient
MRT (Mass Rapid Transport) system.
It extends to Singapore’s excellent
modern airport, Changi, which
expanded with a third terminal at
the beginning of the last year.
The STB also aims to increase its
cruise ship visitors from 943,000 in
2007 to 1.6 million by 2015, backed
by a new International Cruise
Terminal, set to open late next year.
Accommodation
Singapore has no shortage of hotels,
from great value budget options, to
luxurious old dames such as Raffl es
and the Fullerton (converted from
offi cial offi ces to a hotel in 2001) to
modern luxury options such as the
Marina Mandarin and Four Seasons
Singapore. Shangri-La has a budget
Traders hotel as well as its fi vestar
Singapore and Rasa
50 | Travel Weekly | March 6 2009 www.travelweekly.co.uk
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