Singapore tourism gets yet another Instagram-friendly visitor attraction with the official opening of Sensoryscape on Sentosa Island tomorrow.
Sensoryscape is a walkway designed to stimulate the senses and to connect two parts of Sentosa Island. According to the official description: “In this day-to-night experience, each scent, sound, touch, and light display marks the start of an immersive sensory adventure, where every discovery becomes an unforgettable memory.”
Reporting on a special media preview of Sensoryscape, the Singapore publication The Straits Times said that the new walkway, aside from adding an attraction to Sentosa, was also meant to accommodate the increasing visitor numbers to the island. Tourism growth and infrastructure development are both being achieved by the Sensoryscape opening.
ST quoted Thien Kwee Eng, Chief Executive of the Sentosa Development Corporation (SDC), as saying, “When visitor numbers went up, we found that capacity could not cope… so we wanted [Sensoryscape] to be a passageway to enhance capacity and connectivity for people to move around the island.”
With its 350-metre walkway, the Sensoryscape development covers an area of 30,000 square metres, acting as a connector between Resorts World Sentosa and Sentosa beaches. It complements the Sentosa Express monorail and the shuttle buses.
One of the focal points of the Sensoryscape development is the Lookout Loop. The website said: “Step into Lookout Loop, the visual epicentre of Sensoryscape. Beyond the lush canopy, discover vistas of panoramic splendour in the north and glimpses of the serene sea in the south.”
The six main sections of Sensoryscape are: Lookout Loop, Tactile Trellis, Scented Sphere, Symphony Streams, Palate Playground, and Glow Garden. Together, they serve the five senses of sight, touch, smell, hearing, and taste. The total investment in Sensoryscape is an estimated SGD 90 million.
Walking down the Sensoryscape pathway is a very pleasurable experience, with an easy gradient, wheelchair access, and the provision of taking pets along if they are on a leash.
Increased access to both parts of Sentosa Island through the Sensoryscape walkway will keep visitors for longer on the island, and consequently result in more business.
This new attraction gives yet another boost to Singapore tourism, which is already fired up by the recent Taylor Swift concerts and has been on a strong recovery path since all pandemic restrictions were lifted for fully vaccinated visitors from February 2023.
On February 1, 2024, the Singapore Tourism Board reported: “Singapore’s tourism sector recovered strongly and demonstrated resilience with a solid performance for 2023. International visitor arrivals (IVA) reached 13.6 million in 2023 (~71 per cent of 2019 IVA), meeting STB’s forecast of between 12 and 14 million visitors. Tourism receipts (TR) are estimated to reach $24.5 to $26 billion (~88-94 per cent of 2019 TR), surpassing STB’s forecast of $18 to $21 billion set out in 2023.”
Sentosa is one of the must-visit stops for international tourists in Singapore and also a big draw for domestic tourists. The island received around 15 million visitors in 2023, of which more than 6 million were local people, reported ST.
“We are very encouraged, because it puts us at 75 per cent of pre-COVID-19 numbers,” said Thien to ST, adding that the recovery of tourism in Sentosa reflected the rebound in travel and tourism in Singapore. “We are optimistic about recovery and we are very heartened by how locals have embraced and keep coming back to Sentosa.”