Destinations known | As Covid curbs further ease in Singapore, life returns to normal and new visitor accommodation springs up – despite the impending climate apocalypse

Singapore scrapped more Covid-19 curbs on August 29, and, like many destinations, expects international visitor arrivals to rocket before 2022 is out

New guest accommodation includes a ‘socially and locally driven’ hotel, while a resort consisting of decommissioned buses is planned for next year

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Tourists explore Singapore on an open top double-decker bus on August 16, 2022. Photo: AFP

Mark Footer

Published: 8:45am, 1 Sep 2022Updated: 2:09pm, 5 Sep 2022

Singapore was ahead of the Asian pack when it introduced Vaccinated Travel Lanes in September 2021, and took another big step towards a full reopening when it began allowing in all fully vaccinated travellers on April 1 this year.

Encouraged by the return of all those lovely international arrivals – 1.5 million in the first six months of the year – and keen for more, Singapore scrapped some of its last pandemic-era curbs on August 29.

Now, non- or partially vaxxed visitors may enter without having to quarantine – as long as they test negative before travelling – and masks in indoor settings are no longer mandatory, except for on public transport and in healthcare facilities and the like.

With Changi Airport back in action, the Singapore Tourism Board is confident annual international visitor arrivals will hit between 4 million and 6 million before 2022 is out. This is still a far cry from the 19.2 million who arrived in 2019, but it’s a giant leap in the right direction.

Dao by Dorsett AMTD Singapore represents “an exciting new hospitality approach for a new era of travel”. Photo: Dao by Dorsett

We say “right direction” but, in all the excitement about destinations getting their tourists back, most of us seem to have forgotten there’s a climate emergency on, and having an increasing number of humans flouncing around the globe again, restomping their carbon footprints, is NOT A GOOD THING.