This is an opportunity to speak up for our wild places as tourist attractions. Send your feedback at www.tourismcompass2020.comSingapore Tourism Board (STB) chief Aw Kah Peng said that having Singaporeans give their input and ideas will ensure that "we can tell our story to tourists better".
Mr Gerald Lee, The Ascott Group's deputy chief and co-chair of the Singapore Tourism Consultative Council, said: "Tourism is not just for visitors; Singapore tourism belongs to residents, too. By bringing members of the public into this discussion, we hope to include ideas and suggestions close to the hearts of people."
Unfortunately, the feedback site is very clunky, especially for reading other people's suggestions. But you can post a 2,000 character message and add a link to a video clip and photo.
My contribution is:
WILD Singapore! Singapore is probably one of the few cities with wild places and wildlife within a half hour from the main business and tourist districts. We have rainforests, mangroves, coral reefs and more! A rainforest uncut since Raffles first landed, kampung life in a time warp on Pulau Ubin, rolling countryside at Kranji, to offshore islands still teeming with marinelife.
While our wild habitats may not be as large and spectacular as elsewhere, they are very accessible and make for a quick, easy introduction to typical tropical habitats
They broaden the variety of possibilities during a visit to Singapore for busy travellers with limited time and budget. For some business travellers, it may be their only opportunity for a quick visit to a natural tropical habitat.
Our wild places also cater to those who want to do something else than just shop until they drop, or pay for artificial experiences in man-made playgrounds or parks.
Some of our wild places are well provided with full facilities for an easy visit, others provide a touch of adventure even in urban Singapore.
Our wild places also showcase Singapores natural and social history, as well as our commitment to sustainable development. There is already a small and growing community of volunteers who provide passionate guided tours to share about our wild places. Other volunteers offer an expanding variety of nature activities for families and people of all walks of life.
See www.wildsingapore.com for more.
And I added a link to the YouTube clip of our marine life done by wildfilms, and a poster of Sisters Islands within the set of posters of our wild shores.
The results of this consultation exercise will go into setting up targets for 2020, dubbed the Tourism Compass 2020. The feedback exercise will go on for four months. STB expects to share its findings by March 2010.
More media articles about the STB exercise on the wildsingapore news blog.
Other feedback contributed to the site
Small is Beautiful for Tourism Compass 2020 from AsiaIsGreen.
