Singapore is counting on the acclaim emanating from the first Grand Prix under lights to brighten the gloom hovering over its tourism industry.
With 40,000 overseas visitors on shopping sprees, many sporting team T-shirts and caps, Orchard Road retailers were basking in a three-day bonanza from Friday through yesterday.
In contrast, managers of other shopping centers near roads blocked off for the race stared down almost empty aisles.
PHOTO: EPA
Assurances of intangible benefits to the city-state brought little consolation.
“It’s so quiet,” a supermarket staff member said. “There are usually four times more people on weekends.”
Economists cautioned against expectations that the Formula 1 (F1) race would boost the slowing economy. Initial estimates are likely to be pared lower amid the dismal global economic outlook, said Alvin Liew, Standard Chartered Bank economist.
The city-state image will be the big winner, they said.
The race, which attracted a global television audience “should be the catalyst in changing Singapore’s efficient, but dull image,” said Goh Shu Fen (吳淑芬), head of an advertising industry consulting firm.
It could attract more tourists, conferences, sports and businesses in the long haul, Goh said.
Singapore is paying US$200 million over five years to promote itself as a fun place to visit. Two casino resorts to be completed by 2010 and the completion last year of the world’s largest observation wheel, taller than the London Eye, are all part of Singaporean Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong’s (李顯龍) drive to inject a significant “wow” factor.
The TV views of the skyline juxtaposed with the sight of the F1 racers hurtling past the Singapore Flyer and historic icons have made for stunning watching, media analysts said.
“Hopefully, this will open people’s eyes,” said sports supremo Bernie Ecclestone who came up with the idea of night racing in Singapore.
Against the prospect of the city-state slipping into a technical recession this quarter and predictions that the economy may grow less than 4 percent this year, the overwhelming praise for the venue has been heartening.
Some doubt, however, that this year’s target for 10.8 million tourists will be reached. The city-state has been aiming for a larger slice of the tourism pie to compensate for less manufacturing.
Beyond the race weekend, there was little foreign interest in a jamboree with a variety of attractions that started ahead of the main event in hopes of encouraging tourists to stay longer.
Much to the disappointment of hotels, spectators flew in right before Friday’s practice sessions.
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