Singapore’s Universal Studios and first casino at Resorts World Sentosa garnered all the attention over the Lunar New Year holidays.
However, some are wondering if the focus on roller coaster rides and roulette tables will affect the performance of the mainland’s central shopping belt along Orchard Road.
The Universal Studios theme park and first casino in Singapore opened over the weekend, attracting a vast number of visitors.
Some fear that Orchard Road, the premier shopping belt in the country, will lose its glitter, with a number of Singaporeans and tourists expected to visit the new attractions.
However, hotels in Orchard Road claimed that they are not in any way perturbed by the competition.
“It is an anticipated competition where it’s the IR or new hotels coming into the market. We monitored our occupancy very closely. It could be a friendly threat for all, but I do not see any significant ups and downs,” said Katherine Wong, GM at Mandarin Orchard Singapore.
According to the hotels, it is not likely that Orchard Road would be overshadowed by RWS’s developments, a point echoed by retailers.
“Resorts World Sentosa will bring in more crowds because more tourists will be in Singapore. Not everyone will head to the casino, where it’s more entertainment. Our place here is more for shopping,” said Jimmy Fong, CEO of AFOR – EpiCentre.
After a recent overhaul of several shopping malls in the area, Orchard Road is still pulling in the crowds.
In fact, 313@Somerset saw around 80,000 shoppers during the Lunar New Year holidays, with retailers claiming that their earnings had doubled.
The mall is also tying-up with Orchard Central for the next two to three years, all part of plans to boost the shopping experience.
Although the situation for now appears to still favor the Orchard Road hotels and businesses, it remains to be seen how it will be like when the second integrated resort opens in Singapore.
“If you go to the resort in Sentosa, you may not want to stay only in Sentosa and if you go to Marina Bay, you may not only want to stay in Marina Bay. There are many other things to do in Singapore and you may also have clients who want to go to these resorts but don’t want to stay there,” said Ruprecht Schmitz, general manager of Orchard Hotel Singapore.
The influx of tourists in Singapore as a result of the integrated resorts should boost their weekend occupancy as well, said Orchard Hotel.