Leisure

Home of the Pink Dolphins: Underwater World Singapore’s new Dolphin Lagoon

UNDERWATER WORLD SINGAPORE

2010 continued to be a challenging year for Underwater World Singapore (UWS). With the opening of Integrated Resorts in Singapore, competition among attractions heightened. Despite the competitive environment, UWS, aided by a new Dolphin Lagoon, proved to be resilient and recorded a modest year-on-year increase in visitorship over 2009. Through increasing advertising spent and stepping up public relations efforts, UWS succeeded in capturing and sustaining mindshare. To stay ahead of the curve, UWS continued its effort in redefining the oceanarium experience by introducing new products that were responsive to the changing tourism landscape in Singapore.

In conjunction with the local mid-year school holidays, UWS collaborated with the Singapore‘s National Library Board (NLB) to offer the first underwater story-telling session in Singapore. During the weekends, librarians took turns to dive into the Giant Arapaima Tank and to narrate marine-related stories underwater using a deep sea communication system from the United States and waterproof visuals from the storybooks.

UWS marked the official opening of the new Dolphin Lagoon in July 2010 with a surprise introduction of the second pink dolphin calf born in UWS named Speedy. Speedy was the second documented birth of this species of dolphin at any marine park in the world following the world’s first documented birth of the dolphin calf, Splash, at UWS in 2002.

Children for Children 2010 at Underwater World Singapore(Above from left) Haw Par Corporation Executive Director Chng Hwee Hong, CHIJ (Kellock) Principal Clara Lim-Tan, Arts House Board Chairman Jennie Chua, Business Times Editor Alvin Tay, Guest-of-Honour Lui Tuck Yew (Singapore’s Minister for Information,Communications and the Arts) and ChildAid 2010 Organising Chairman Seow Choke Meng at the cheque presentation. Net proceeds were donated to ChildAid which supports The Business Times Budding Artists Fund and The Straits Times School Pocket Money Fund.

Magical experience: Meet-the-Dolphins sessions at the new Dolphin Lagoon

Over two years in the making, the facility located within UWS features a 600-seat sheltered viewing grandstand and an elevated air-conditioned gallery that overlooks the performance area, providing visitors with greater convenience and comfort, and serving as a unique venue for corporate events. Mr S Iswaran, Senior Minister of State for Trade and Industry and Education, graced the occasion as the Guest-of-Honour.

UWS was one of the venues for the “I Do” Weddings 2010, a mass wedding solemnisation ceremony for 118 couples that was supported by the Ministry of Community Development, Youth and Sports of Singapore and held in Sentosa on 10 October 2010. Four couples exchanged their vows by the Dolphin Lagoon while one couple took the plunge into the Reef Colony Tank and tied the knot underwater amongst hundreds of marine creatures. The unique weddings at UWS attracted media attention and garnered mainstream media coverage.

The overall interest in the Integrated Resorts will remain strong and downstream competition among the other attractions is expected to stay intense in 2011. However, there are good reasons to be optimistic. The opening of the new Dolphin Lagoon coupled with intensified sales and marketing efforts this year have shown indications of positive impact in the second half of the year. A certain amount of this momentum is expected to carry through into 2011. The scheduled reopening of Rasa Shangri-La Sentosa, a 500-room hotel situated next to UWS, in January 2011, is envisaged to boost visitorship.


Exquisitely camouflaged: Leafy Seadragon and Weedy Seadragon	Up close and personal: Memorable encounters with friendly fur seals	Sparkling performance: The Rhythmic Gymnasts from CHIJ (Kellock) as ‘starfishes’ promoting the marine conservation message

UNDERWATER WORLD PATTAYA

In 2010, Underwater World Pattaya (UWP) performed satisfactorily despite the instability in Thailand. Taking advantage of the improved climate for tourism in 2010, UWP leveraged its networks to grow both foreign and local visitorship, working closely with the Tourism Authority of Thailand and with other partners such as travel agents, museums and the media.

During the Songkran Festival, Thailand’s New Year, in April 2010, UWP, in collaboration with Coke and Charoen Pokphand Group (CP), staged football games for UWP visitors and rolled out a multi-faceted advertising campaign across TV, radio, print and online platforms. In August 2010, Dr Pichai Songchaeng, President of National Science Museum, invited UWP to participate in the National Science and Technology Fair, Thailand’s largest science and technology festival.

In its effort to enhance visitors’ experience, UWP offered innovative displays with unique themes this year: the “Aqua Monsters” exhibit, the “Ray Pool” display and the “Koi feeding with milk bottle” programme.

UWP will continue to face challenges from the instability in Thailand and competition from other attractions. Riding on the momentum from 2010, UWP will forge ahead with concerted marketing efforts to extend their reach to emerging foreign markets and further strengthen their position in the local market.


Aqua Monsters: Exotic freshwater animals at Underwater World Pattaya	Family Fun: Celebrating Children’s Day at Underwater World Pattaya