Expensive Sentosa

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New Paper
4 April 2009

Prices to go up at Sentosa attractions

WHY increase prices in the thick of a recession when visitor numbers are at a four-year low?

By Lediati Tan

WHY increase prices in the thick of a recession when visitor numbers are at a four-year low?

The decision by Sentosa to increase prices of its four attractions - Songs of the Sea, Sentosa Luge and Skyride, Butterfly Park and Insect Kingdom and the cable car - by between $1 and $6 from Wednesday has left a bad taste with most people The New Paper spoke to.

Said Mrs L T Tan, a housewife in her 50s: 'The economy is so bad and people are either losing their jobs or getting pay cuts. Would anyone still want to go?'

Miss Agnes Ye, 24, a scientist, said: 'We're in a recession. Shouldn't they be lowering their prices to get more people to go rather than increase prices?

'They should have more promotions for families and couples.'

And to her, the attractions on Sentosa were already overpriced to begin with.

Their concerns over timing are not unfounded. February saw only 689,000 visitors to Singapore - a 15.2 per cent decline compared with February last year.

It was the biggest decline since visitor numbers began falling in June.

Faced with such trying times, the Singapore Tourism Board (STB) launched the 2009 Reasons to Visit Singapore promotion in February.

The promotion seeks to target Singapore as a value-for-money destination for foreigners and also aims to encourage its residents to visit local attractions.

But increasing prices at a time like this seems to go against the STB's bid to attract locals to local attractions, said Miss Ye.

When contacted, Ms Susan Ang of Sentosa Leisure Group, which manages the Songs of the Sea attraction, explained that it decided to gradually phase in adjustments to the admission pricing to allow more people to visit the attraction.

She said that the attraction was priced at $6 for the first 14 months since its launch. This was later raised to $8 in June last year, and to $10 from Wednesday.

'Songs of the Sea is competitively priced against Sentosa's many offerings, as well as other leisure activities in the region,' she added.

The company operates three other attractions on Sentosa, namely Fort Siloso, The Merlion and Images of Singapore, but Songs of the Sea was the only one with a price hike.

A spokesman for Mount Faber Leisure Group, which operates the cable car service between Mount Faber and Sentosa, said that the price increase of $6 was part of its business strategy.

It now costs $18.90 for a two-way trip, instead of $12.90.

Even with the increase, the price of a cable-car ride remains one of the lowest in the world, and the company will be offering promotions for locals soon, she added.

Giving better value for money is also the reason why the Sentosa Luge and Skyride adjusted its prices, said Mr Lyndon Thomas, its general manager.

Although the retail price for the combined one luge and one skyride package has been increased from $10 to $11, it actually costs $2 less than if the two luge and two skyride package was purchased instead.

Said Mr Thomas: 'This isn't an across-the-board price increase - it is a minor adjustment that will save our guests money.'

He explained that it gives discounts of up to 55 per cent on rides for its members, who can buy the one luge and one skyride ride combo at just $5.

He added that most customers prefer multiple rides, so they are actually saving money if they buy the two rides package.

Numbers not affected

'Our visitor numbers have not been affected, in comparison to 12 months ago,' said Mr Thomas.

'I believe the pricing adjustment will help us grow our business, as we are making ourselves better value for money for our number one customers, who are Singaporeans.'

The New Paper could not reach the management of the Butterfly Park and Insect Kingdom attraction.

Undergrad Andrew Goh, 23, said he was not bothered by the price increase.

He said that Singaporeans, himself included, generally prefer things that are free.

He added that he only visits Sentosa for its beaches, which means he only has to pay for admission to the island.

A representative from Siam Express, an inbound tour company, told The New Paper that while she understood that the attractions' operators have to cover their costs in these bad times, she thought that increasing prices at this juncture was still ill-timed.

She said: 'I had hoped for prices either to go down or to be maintained.'

But she added that she would still continue to promote Sentosa as a destination for visitors to Singapore, as it is one of our country's main attractions.

Besides, the increase in prices for the attractions have been alleviated by lower hotel prices, she said.

She predicted that for slight increases of $1 to $2, people would still visit the attractions, but for those attractions with bigger increases, the impact will be much greater.