Category Archives: General

Pte sector operators get 2 prime state sites to boost arts and heritage scene

Posted on 17 Sep 2009 | Comments Off on Pte sector operators get 2 prime state sites to boost arts and heritage scene

TWO prime state properties earmarked to promote the arts and heritage scene in Singapore were awarded to private sector operators yesterday. The two sites, one in the Bras Basah area and the other near Dempsey, will host integrated museum and art facilities.

The National Heritage Board revealed yesterday that a record 6.58 million people visited Singapore’s museums in FY2008 – 26.4% more than in FY2007.

Daniel Teo & Associates Pte Ltd and Linda Gallery were awarded the leases to sites at 222 Queen Street, and 27A, 30B and 30C Loewen Road respectively from among nine proposals competing for the sites. The former site is located within the museum cluster at the Bras Basah-Bugis arts and entertainment zone while the latter is near the chic arts and lifestyle precinct of Dempsey.

Prime state properties set aside to boost the arts and heritage scene here were first made available by the National Heritage Board (NHB) and Singapore Land Authority (SLA) last October through a joint request-for-interest exercise to develop, operate and manage integrated museum and art facilities.

With lower start-up costs, it was envisioned that this would ease the entry of new players into the arts and heritage scene. Continue reading →

Comments Off on Pte sector operators get 2 prime state sites to boost arts and heritage scene

Posted in General

Tagged , , , ,

Lower hotel room rates make S’pore better deal for visitors

Posted on 16 Sep 2009 | Comments Off on Lower hotel room rates make S’pore better deal for visitors

SINGAPORE may be a more attractive travel destination now, after the average hotel rate plummeted as much as 35 per cent year-on-year to US$141 in the first half of this year – the fifth-biggest decline worldwide.

Globally, the average price of a hotel room dropped 17 per cent in H1. Moscow saw the biggest fall in the rate, down 52 per cent to US$218, while Mumbai followed with a 42 per cent drop to US$163.

‘The significant fall in hotel prices in Singapore and the Asia-Pacific makes this region attractive for Singaporean and regional travellers,’ said Johan Svanstrom, managing director of online travel firm Hotels.com Asia Pacific.

For instance, the average room rate in Beijing in H1 2009 was US$111 versus US$162 in H1 2008. Similarly, the average rate in New York was US$196 – almost a third less than the US$281 travellers had to fork out a year earlier.

‘This is by far the most significant movement in prices we’ve seen in five years of publishing the Hotel Price Index (HPI),’ said David Roche, president of Hotels.com Worldwide.

The HPI tracks real prices paid per room by Hotels.com customers, as opposed to advertised rates, to ensure an accurate reflection of hotel prices. Continue reading →

Comments Off on Lower hotel room rates make S’pore better deal for visitors

Posted in General

Tagged ,