Sentosa: Call it the 'S' factor

After reading about a $3-billion plan to attract more visitors to Sentosa, I went down from my HDB flat and saw a group of boys playing football. The children were happy without any state-of-the-art facilities. It did not matter that the ground had potholes and they had to use slippers to mark out makeshiftgoal posts.

Does Sentosa need better facilities? Easier access definitely, but it is questionable whether it needs billions of dollars of additional infrastructure.

The few times that Sentosa attracted huge crowds were when they had all-night parties on the beach. No megabuck investments were needed then, just some relaxing of rules such as those disallowing discos to operate beyond 3am.

Right now, the most popular attraction on Sentosa is the Underwater World. Yet, how many people like it so much that they keep going back? For any place to succeed, it has to have repeat customers.

Lure them with food? Singaporeans will queue six hours for Lim Chee Guan dried pork, or drive to Punggol, Tuas or even Johor for seafood. Will they go to Sentosa if millions of dollars were spent to develop waterfront dining?

There is already waterfront dining at Boat Quay and Clarke Quay, but the most crowded places there are a small number of pubs, not the restaurants.

Singaporeans will eat at Sentosa - and invite their overseas friends along - only if some popular restaurants are set up there. Yet, these restaurants have no reason to relocate to Sentosa when they are already doing roaring trade at current locations.

So, how to get eight million people to visit Sentosa annually? How to get a daily draw of 22,000 visitors? Is it even a good idea to attract so many people there? Would it not spoil the fun if the place was crowded like Orchard Road?

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Marketing

That four million people already visit Sentosa annually is in itself an achievement. But how much of it is due to marketing hype? With marketing hype, you can even get tourists to visit City Hall!

Beyond marketing, Sentosa needs real attractions such as a Disneyland-type theme park. However, large-scale theme parks require big investment that runs into billions. It would be a big gamble for investors.

Of course, proponents will say it is not a gamble. Theme parks are considered good investments. Malaysia is planning to build one. Or two. Indonesia, Thailand and the Philippines could well have similar plans.

What, then, will make Sentosa special?

Perhaps, the leadership of someone like Darrell Metzger, the island's newly-appointed chief executive.

Mr Metzger talks about having people do things - he recognises that kids want to break things! - rather than just having them look at things.

This sounds like a recipe for success. The worrisome part is that he also talks about ''quality at a fair price'' when a major grouse is that Sentosa is too costly.

Let's hope Mr Metzger has that 'X' factor that will make this a successful project.

Not just Sentosa, but Singapore's entire tourism industry needs revitalisation. Meanwhile, here is one success story to mull over.

Pulau Ubin has a mangrove swamp and beach called Chek Jawa that is rich with marine life - starfish, crabs, sea urchins, anemones, seahorses, fish...

Not many people knew about this place until recently, when it was earmarked for land reclamation but saved in the nick of time by a few dedicated conservationists.

Now, Chek Jawa has become so popular the number of visitors has to be regulated. Last I heard, there is a two-month waiting list.

All this without having to spend much money on infrastructure.