Singapore takes Lonely Planet's top country destination award

From Channel News Asia Singapore

Lonely Planet has named Singapore as top destination among countries in Best in Travel 2015, its 10th annual agenda-setting collection of the best trends, destinations and experiences for the year ahead.

SINGAPORE: Lonely Planet has named Singapore the world's top destination among countries for next year - this is the first time that Singapore has made it to its annual list of best destinations.

The travel media company listed Singapore top in the Lonely Planet Best in Travel 2015, its 10th annual agenda-setting collection of the best trends, destinations, and experiences for the year ahead.

Lonely Planet said many factors contributed to the win, including developments like a new crop of swanky hotels, and new attractions such as the Singapore Sports Hub and the National Art Gallery opening next year. It also noted that Singapore has been nurturing an emerging local fashion scene, and artisanal coffee has taken off here.

In the list, Namibia came in second, while Lithuania and Nicaragua came in third and fourth respectively. The other countries that made it to the top 10 were Ireland, Republic of Congo, Serbia, Philippines, St Lucia and Morocco. Washington, DC in the United States was named the top city to visit, while Gallipoli in Turkey was chosen as the top region to visit.

These destinations were chosen based on three criteria, explained Lonely Planet Marketing Director Chris Zeiher. "The first one we look at is topicality - is there something happening in that destination in that year to come? Because it is about looking forward, particularly for travellers when they are doing all their planning," he said. "The second one is a 'wow' factor. Is there something that is emerging within a destination that makes it really interesting from a travellers' point of view? The third one is whether a destination is value for money and family-friendly."

The Singapore Tourism Board (STB) expects visitor arrivals to be at least 16.3 million this year and spending by tourists to be about S$23 billion. As Singapore puts on its party hat next year to celebrate its 50th birthday, tourists can expect bigger and better things.

STB Assistant Chief Executive Lynette Pang called 2015 "the year of arts and sports": "With the opening of Sports Hub, there will be an amazing calendar of sports programming. We also have the opening of the National Gallery Singapore, which will see for the very first time major pieces of art from Southeast Asia."

To continue appealing to tourists, Singapore also has to focus on marketing its authenticity, said Mr Kevin Cheong, Chairman of the Association of Singapore Attractions. "It is about being original. Moving forward, I believe that we need to start looking at what makes Singapore authentic. What is the Singapore blend of service and culture which makes people say 'Wow, this is something different' and truly a crossroads of East and West?"