Page 24 - ar2012

Operations review
healthcare.
leisure.
property & investments.
people & the community.
Underwater World Singapore
Underwater World Singapore
(UWS) continued to face enormous
challenges on different fronts in
2012. A sluggish global economy
had its effects ontheoverall tourism
performance in Singapore. The
strong Singapore dollar coupled
with high hotel rates adversely
affected traditional touristmarkets
that UWS serves. Sentosa, where
UWS is situated, was under pressure
fromnewandstrengtheningtourism
clusters in Singapore andMalaysia.
An aquariumnewly opened at the
integrated resort in Sentosa since
lateNovember alsopresenteddirect
competition to UWS.
Despite these turbulent market
conditions, the negative impact on
UWS’ bottom-line was less severe
than expected as it planned ahead
and took swift action tomanage the
competition, increase productivity
and reduce operating cost. UWS
also continued to experience
growth in visitor numbers from
certain key markets.
To counter the competition from
new and existing key attractions,
UWS expanded its sales channels
through close collaborations with
trade partners to reach potential
visitors, while, at the same time,
sustained mindshare through
investment in advertising spend
and increased public relations
activities.
During the Chinese New Year in
2012, UWS transformed its iconic
Underwater World Singapore
celebrated the Year of the Water
Dragon with Singapore’s First
Underwater Dragon Dance.
Resilience is the
name of the
game while we
set our sight
on building a
basket of leisure
offerings in the
region.
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