Hey
Scofield, it has been quite some time since you came to Singapore!
The
attraction that I would like to recommend you is Marine Life Park, S.E.A
Aquarium. It is one of the latest attractions that Singapore has developed and
you should try it out! Below are background information of the attraction which
I think it would be better for you to know.
Proof of visit
First
of all, the opening hours of S.E.A Aquarium are from 10 am to 7 pm daily and
the ticket booths are opened from 9.30 am to 7 pm daily.
The prices of the tickets are $29 for adults, $20 for children who are 4 to 12 years old and $20 for senior citizens who are 60 years old and above.
From what I have observed, there are 2 information desks available at the entrance of the S.E.A Aquarium as well as The Maritime Experiential Museum. Moreover, there are staffs available at each of the highlights of the attractions in the aquarium and is there for you if you need to ask any questions about directions or about the fishes.
The prices of the tickets are $29 for adults, $20 for children who are 4 to 12 years old and $20 for senior citizens who are 60 years old and above.
From what I have observed, there are 2 information desks available at the entrance of the S.E.A Aquarium as well as The Maritime Experiential Museum. Moreover, there are staffs available at each of the highlights of the attractions in the aquarium and is there for you if you need to ask any questions about directions or about the fishes.
This
is a map in the brochure which you are able to get it from the information
desk. As you can see from the map, I feel that the directional signage are
clear and well placed because they have used a 3D view of the place, thus it
will allow us to understand the map better. Moreover, the legend that they have
used is located accurately in the map. For example, the highlights of the
attractions, toilets, FNB etc.
As
for the availability of toilets, there are 2 toilets available for you at the
aquarium. One is located 100 meters away from the entrance and the other is
right at the end of the aquarium. When I was in the toilet, the toilet was well
maintained, and it is also very clean.
As
for the Food & Beverages outlets, there are a 2 available. Firstly, there
is an outlet called the S.E.A. Side Snacks and they offer a wide variety of
quick bites for the entire family who wishes to take a short break. Secondly,
there is an outlet called the Ocean Restaurant and if you want to have a sumptuous
sit down meal, head down there, which is located next to the Open Ocean
Gallery.
Below are the pictures of the 2 outlets.
There
is a gift shop that is located at the exit of S.E.A Aquarium and there are many
different varieties of souvenirs which is available! I bought a light blue
dolphin for myself and it is very adorable!
Here is a picture of the dolphin
that I have bought!
It’s
cute isn’t it?
As
for car parks, there are several car parks which you will be able to park your
car. Most of the time, people will park their car at Resort World Sentosa’s B1
car park as it will be convenient to go to any of the attractions as it is in
the center. However, car parks charges apply.
Well,
since I do not own a car, I will usually take the Mass Rapid Transport also
known as the MRT to Habourfront station. I usually get there by taking the
circle line as it is faster. From there, I will take the Sentosa Express which
is located at 3rd level of VivoCity Shopping mall to enter the
resort and drop off at Waterfront Station. However, you have to pay $4 for the
fee for Sentosa express. Likewise, If you want to get back to VivoCity, you can
use the same route that you get to Resort World Sentosa. But this time, you do
not have to pay the fee of $4!
In
addition, there is a discovery tour called the Marine Discoverer Tour which you
have to pay $16 for 90 minutes anytime between 11 am to 3 pm, for a tour guide
to bring you on a journey through S.E.A Aquarium. It is designed to give you an
exclusive opportunity to learn more about the amazing marine animals and the
habitats they dwell in. I feel that this
would be a great opportunity for you to learn more about marine life animals if
you do not have any experience or knowledge about it!
Moreover,
S.E.A. Aquarium offers barrier-free accessibility inside the attraction. Guests
travelling in wheelchairs can access most of the routes in S.E.A. Aquarium.
Ocean Dome can be accessed by the lift located along the back of the Ocean
Gallery.
Here’s a picture that I have taken to show that its wheelchair
friendly!
I
personally feel that the staffs there are friendly because when I first step
into the S.E.A Aquarium, one of the staff asked me and my friends to take a
photo together. When we rejected, he continued to persuade us and told us that
it is free and asked us to try it. However, we still rejected it. Further in
the aquarium at the Discovery Touch Pool, there were starfishes and sea urchins
that people are able to touch. The staffs there explained to people about sea
creatures and told people that they are completely harmless. Moreover, they
were holding onto tissue papers to hand it to the people to dry their hands up.
Here is a picture of me, touching the starfish!
I
bet you cannot wait to feel a starfish don’t you Scofield?
Last
but not least, there will feedback forms available at the information desk if
you have any complaints or any constructive feedbacks that will help improve in
the service or product of the aquarium.
So
now, I will be answering your questions which you have asked!
A) How will you classify the attraction according
to the visitor market?
I
would classify the visitor market to all age groups and both males and females
because experiencing a marine life experience is something that anybody can
enjoy. Moreover, no matter how old or how young you are, it is always good to
keep learning new things and keeping your knowledge going.
I would say that there are more day visitors as compared to staying visitors because you can complete this marine adventure in a few hours and therefore, people might not stay over at Resort World Sentosa especially for local people like me. However, I think that tourist and tour groups that are here to Singapore for an adventure trip, they are most likely to stay in a hotel in Resort World Sentosa so that they will be able to visit other attractions such as Universal Studios Singapore etc. during their stay in Singapore. In my research, I have found out that Capella Singapore and Shangri-La’s Rasa Sentosa Resort are ranked 1st and 2nd in TripAdvisor. Therefore, most tourists would most likely stay in either of these 2 hotels as they are highly recommended.
As for the means of transportation for tourists, I would say that most tourists would take the Sentosa Express as they would want to experience different kinds of experience. Moreover the Sentosa Express has been ranked 4th in the TripAdvisor as an attraction in Sentosa island.
I would say that there are more day visitors as compared to staying visitors because you can complete this marine adventure in a few hours and therefore, people might not stay over at Resort World Sentosa especially for local people like me. However, I think that tourist and tour groups that are here to Singapore for an adventure trip, they are most likely to stay in a hotel in Resort World Sentosa so that they will be able to visit other attractions such as Universal Studios Singapore etc. during their stay in Singapore. In my research, I have found out that Capella Singapore and Shangri-La’s Rasa Sentosa Resort are ranked 1st and 2nd in TripAdvisor. Therefore, most tourists would most likely stay in either of these 2 hotels as they are highly recommended.
As for the means of transportation for tourists, I would say that most tourists would take the Sentosa Express as they would want to experience different kinds of experience. Moreover the Sentosa Express has been ranked 4th in the TripAdvisor as an attraction in Sentosa island.
B) What are the motivating factors that
will interest your friend to visit the recommended location?
I
would recommend this attraction to my friend because the S.E.A Aquarium is the
largest aquarium in the world and it gives you a marine life experience which
you would never be able to experience in other places. Moreover, there are many
kinds of experience that you would get when you visit the aquarium such as
being able to touch the star fishes and sea urchins, being up close to sharks,
stingrays etc. and even the jellyfishes which will change its color when the
lighting changes!
Here’s a video of the jellyfishes!
It’s
awesome isn’t it?
Moreover,
something that you must never miss while you are in the aquarium is the
Dolphins!
Here's a few pictures that I have taken!
Lastly,
I recommend this attraction over other attractions is because this attraction
gives you a different kind of experience as compared to other attractions. Thus
I feel that the experience is something that makes this attraction unique.
The
core product: Marine life experience, Education
Tangible product: Souvenirs, brochures, staffs, quality of service, marine animals
Augmented product: Food & Beverages, car parks, procedure for handling complaints, retails, accessibility, opening hours
Tangible product: Souvenirs, brochures, staffs, quality of service, marine animals
Augmented product: Food & Beverages, car parks, procedure for handling complaints, retails, accessibility, opening hours
The
benefits that I think my friend would enjoy are the marine animals and the
quality of service that the staffs provide! The friendliness and help that they
provide are something that makes your experience better and enjoyable! The
retail store which sells souvenir would be good, if he/she intends to buy
something back for himself!
C) Describe the unique nature of the
attraction as a service product, in the context of your selected attraction.
What challenges does this pose for the attraction?
1)
The staffs involved in producing and
delivering the product are part of the product itself.
The
staffs are well-informed, and they are friendly. They are knowledgeable about
their job and able to explain to customers about the marine animals.
The
challenge that this pose for the attraction is that if the staffs are not
knowledgeable about their job, customers might be unhappy with the product and
therefore having a bad impression of the attraction itself. Words of mouth will
spread and the reputation of the attraction will fall.
2)
The customers themselves are involved
in the production process.
The
way that customers perceive things are different which makes the experience
different from others. For example, the dolphin might not be at the spot where
you can see from the glass as they will swim around freely. Thus different
customers will not be able to see the same view as another customer and
therefore might not have enjoyed the same as another.
The
challenge that this pose for the attraction is that they have to make sure that
all customers would experience the same experience as compared to another
customers so that all of the customers would be satisfied and happy with the
product.
3)
The service product is not
standardized.
The
service that the staff provides is different from one another because they have
different way of thinking and style of working. Therefore, the things they do
and say might differ from one another but still providing a good service.
The
challenge that this pose for the attraction is that if the staff with good
service skills helps a customer before for example, and later in time, another
staff with a average service skills help that same customer again, that
customer might not be satisfied with the service that the 2nd staff
gave as it differs from the 1st staff.
4)
The product is perishable, cannot be
stored.
The
marine animals which are the products for the attraction, cannot be stored if
not the marine animals will die. They have to swim freely in the aquarium.
The
challenge that this pose for the attraction is that the product must be able to
feel at its own natural habitat, and not stored at another place if not the
marine animals would not be able to survive. Therefore the attraction must make
sure that the aquarium is similar to its natural habitat so it would be able to
survive and live naturally.
5)
There is no tangible product to carry
home.
There
are souvenirs which you will be able to buy at the retail outlet at the exit of
S.E.A Aquarium and also, there are brochures provided.
The
challenge that this pose for the attraction is that, if there is no tangible
product for customers to carry home, they might not be able to be reminded of
the experience that they had during the visit of that attraction. It is like; the tangible product such as the
souvenir serves as a memorial for the customer.
6) The surroundings of the service
delivery process are a feature of the service
The
environment that this attraction offer is functional and attractive to the
visitor as it is made to give you the atmosphere of having the experience in
the marine life. With a very attractive attraction, and it is without good
service staff, the attraction would not be successful. This means that both the
attraction and the service delivery process are closely intertwined.
The
challenge that this pose for the attraction is that the amount of space that
the attraction has is fixed; therefore if there is an enormous amount of people
going to the attraction, they might have trouble walking around the S.E.A
Aquarium and therefore not enjoying the experience of marine life. Therefore,
if the attraction hires the wrong staffs, the attraction’s reputation might
fall because customers would not be able to enjoy the attraction.
D) Share with your friend why you think
the attraction has been highly ranked on TripAdvisor.
I feel that S.E.A Aquarium has met the
needs of their target markets, because they are able to give their target
market a whole new marine life experience that you will be able to enjoy and
relax. Moreover, you will be able to see many different species of marine life
animals and will be able to widen your knowledge.
I personally feel that the way they designed the aquarium is very unique, in terms of the layout of the aquariums for the marine animals, especially this few pictures that I have taken at the S.E.A Aquarium! I find it very amazing and it is something which would be kept in my memory even after I leave the place.
I personally feel that the way they designed the aquarium is very unique, in terms of the layout of the aquariums for the marine animals, especially this few pictures that I have taken at the S.E.A Aquarium! I find it very amazing and it is something which would be kept in my memory even after I leave the place.
Here are pictures of attractions which I find it amazing!
More exciting and closer up pictures will be shown at the end of the blog!
The attraction features more than
100,000 marine animals from over 800 species across 49 habitats and is home to
majestic manta rays, enormous goliath groupers, hammerhead sharks and other
gentle giants of the sea. Which makes it better than Underwater World as
Underwater World only features more than 2,500 marine animals from over 250
species. Therefore, S.E.A Aquarium is much better than Underwater World as it
showcase a whole lot more and different species of marine animals from all over
the world!The S.E.A Aquarium has been successful is promoting itself as you can see that it has been ranked as the 9th attraction in Sentosa island. Being able to be ranked top 10 means that it has created awareness for people around the world, and tourists who visit Singapore would never fail to visit this attraction.
E) Comment on the impact the attraction
has on Singapore
1)
Economic impact
Tourism
revenue will increase because more people will visit S.E.A Aquarium as it is
one of the top attractions in Singapore. Moreover, having more people to visit
S.E.A Aquarium, the income for the government would increase as there will be
more tax paid by the items bought such as souvenirs etc. and entrance charges.
Therefore, as Singapore will have an increase in tourism receipt, Singapore
would be able to boost the tourism economy by having more attractions and
upgrading of the facilities etc. and thus benefiting both local citizens and
residents of Singapore. This would then create jobs for people as there would
be in need of manpower to provide the product and services.
However,
if the government is going to focus all its resources in the tourism economy,
the government has to forgo other choices of economy that can be improved on.
2)
Environmental impact
Tourism
can cause the same forms of pollution as any other industry such as noise
pollution, solid waste pollution, littering, air emission etc.
Transport
emissions and emissions from energy production and use are linked to acid rain,
global warming and photochemical pollution. Air pollution from transportation
has impacts on the global level, especially from carbon dioxide emissions
related to transportation energy use. It can also contribute to severe local
air pollution. Especially cars, they are commonly used by families to go to
Sentosa island, which would produce harmful air emission that would affect both
people and the world. Moreover, in order to bring in the dolphins for the
attraction, the dolphins are deprived of their natural habitat. Also, some of
the dolphins died during the transfer from another country to Singapore.
1)
Socio-Cultural impact
Since
the S.E.A Aquarium is one of the few top attractions in Singapore and it is the
world’s largest aquarium, therefore it will naturally bring in large crowds
from both local and tourists to Sentosa Island. This would cause the
atmosphere, sense of space and peace to be ruined.
There
might be communication barrier between local people and tourist. Tourists
often, out of ignorance or carelessness, fail to respect local customs and
moral values. This is because they are not used to Singapore’s custom and moral
values and most importantly the way that the local people and tourist perceive
things are different. Therefore, there might be a communication barrier between
local people and tourist which might cause conflicts.
Below are more pictures that I have taken at the S.E.A Aquarium!
This is the end of my trip to S.E.A Aquarium. I hope that my answers to your questions will be helpful to you and I hope that you have learned more about S.E.A Aquarium from this blog entry. Hope you enjoyed it and see you soon, Scofield!
