HITS AND MISSES : GARDENS BY THE BAY

Abstract

On 11 January 2005, Minister for Trade and Industry, Mr Lim Hng Kiang, unveiled the Singapore Tourism Board’s (STB) targets to ensure that tourism remains as a key economic pillar. Within the plans of Tourism 2015, Singapore aims to be a destination of choice, a powerful tourism hub attracting visitors, businesses and talents from across the world by 2015. As such, the S$2 Billion Tourism Development Fund has been deployed to catalyze future initiatives and catapult growth in the tourism industry, out of which S$795 million to over S$1 billion were dedicated to the construction of Gardens by the Bay, which was opened on 29 June 2012. On 1 November 2010, Minister for National Development, Mr Mah Bow Tan, further disclosed the key roles of Gardens by the Bay, putting forth its strategic role in realizing the City in a Garden vision, and cementing the objectives and aspirations as penned in Tourism 2015. Though the Gardens by the Bay is a valid continuation of the governments’ efforts in securing a competitive edge amongst countries, the question lies whether it being such a hit, has also truly been a miss in the overall scheme of things, especially in attaining its acclaimed national identity. As such, the essay hopes to uncover the ‘misses’ that might have been overlooked, and how these ‘misses’ could better inform and enrich the existing scheme, perhaps even provide an alternative concept on how Gardens of the Bay can be envisioned. The essay is centred on uncovering the significance of this acclaimed national identity at Marina Bay, and whether the reasons for constructing this identity are necessarily compelling.