The Lonely Planet has named Singapore the top travel destination for 2015.
The world’s largest travel guide book publisher has launched its latest edition of the Best in Travel series, which collates the world’s top trends and experiences contributed by experts, writers and editors.
10 countries, 10 regions and 10 cities are recommended each time as the year’s top destinations, and for 2015, Singapore’s made it to the top of the table, beating countries like Ireland, Morocco, Nicaragua and Serbia.
Lonely Planet attributes the country’s grand heritage buildings, chaotic hawker centres, glitzy shopping malls and a slew of upcoming developments as an elevation of the ‘Singapore experience’. Our food offers “life-changing experiences”, and is arguably the country’s most defining pleasure.
Emerging cultural trends including our blooming local arts scene, artisan coffee, brunch and Club Street’s burgeoning nightlife hotspots have also been highlighted.
But the clincher for Singapore it seems is SG50, the year-long celebrations for Singapore’s 50th birthday. “As one of the world’s most multicultural cities, Singapore is always celebrating something,” the book says. “But Asia’s smallest state has an extra special reason to put on her partyhat in 2015, for it’s her Golden Jubilee”.
The Marina Bay Sands, the National Art Gallery and the Singapore Sports Hub make a “spectacular backdrop for a 50th birthday party”.
The Singapore Tourism Board (STB) is evidently thrilled with the honour. Present at the media conference earlier this morning was STB’s Assistant Chief Executive Lynette Pang who expressed her pride with the results. “This accolade bears testament to the wide variety of high-quality experiences that Singapore offers, and will serve as motivation for us to continue delivering innovative tourism concepts that can further elevate the Singapore experience”.
Photos: Ilyas Sholihyn
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