Singapore Botanic Gardens

Hi Lisa!

It's been a long while since we last met! I heard that you would be visiting Singapore soon. There are many great attractions to visit in Singapore, however, out of the list of attractions you have pointed out, I would like to recommend Singapore Botanic Gardens the most! I think you would enjoy it especially since you are a nature lover!

A) Classification of Attraction According to Target Market

The Singapore Botanic Gardens targets people who love being close to nature, who wish to gain knowledge about plants, students studying plants, and families with young children. They are targeting both locals and tourists who have this interests! The people who visit the gardens are also day visitors.

I went there a few days ago and here is my experience. I went together with 3 other friends. We entered through the side entrance of the garden as we took an MRT there. The gardens' side entrance is just at the exit of Botanic Gardens MRT and there is also a bus stop nearby which makes it highly accessible.

(Botanic Gardens MRT station, just in front of the side gate)

Information 

Singapore Botanic Gardens, 1 Cluny Road, Singapore 259569

Operating hours: 5am-12 midnight daily.
Admission: Free
Tel: +65-6471 7361/6471 7138

Their vision: A tropical botanical garden of international renown. A national icon, key tourist destination and flagship park.

Their mission: Connecting people and plants through publications, horticultural and botanical displays, educational outreach, and events, provision of a key civic and recreational space, and playing a role as an international Gardens and a regional centre for botanical and horticultural research and training.

B) Motivating Factors

I recommended this attraction as I felt that you would enjoy the core products of the attraction, which are relaxation and education since you are a nature lover. The tangible products of this attraction are the plants and the beautiful scenery. The augmented products would be the car park, the food and beverage outlets and the souvenir shops.

These are the food and beverage outlets and the souvenir shops which we happened to pass by.

 (Kidz Cafe)

(National Orchid Garden Gift Gallery)

The food in the Kidz Cafe is quite reasonable. (I took note of the price of the french fries which costs $3.50 and the fish and chips which costs $7.90).

The souvenir shop we went to is actually the National Orchid Garden Gift Gallery. The National Orchid Garden is actually a garden within Singapore Botanic Gardens. However, you would have to pay a certain fee to enter. The National Orchid Garden might also interest you as it has over 1,000 species and 2,000 hybrids found in the garden, and 600 species and hybrids on display. This is the extra information on it.

Continuing with Singapore Botanic Gardens, the garden is a public sector and since 1990, it has been under the management of Nature Parks Board.

The Gardens also host events occasionally. On that day, the Shaw Foundation Symphony Stage was prepared for an event happening on the next day. It was a musical event called "the journeys of inspiration band performance". It was a pity as we should have visited the Garden on the next day instead so that we could have watched and photographed the event. Anyway, here are the pictures of the stage.

 (The Shaw Foundation Symphony Stage)

(Surrounding area of the stage)

It is really beautiful as it is in an open garden space and it would have been relaxing and entertaining to watch the performance there.

C) Unique Nature of Singapore Botanic Gardens

The unique nature of this attraction is that the customers themselves are involved in the production process. The customers' experience in the garden would be based on their own interests and their own expectations. An example would be a customer going into the garden with no interest in nature and no intention of learning anything from the garden. This would make his/her experience more boring and meaningless compared to a customer who enjoys nature and hopes to learn something from the garden. Therefore, this causes difficulties for Singapore Botanic Gardens due to the customer's experience being based on his/her interest. However, since you are interested in nature, I am sure you would have a great time at the gardens!

The garden is separated into several sections which you can visit.

However, I would highly recommend you to visit the evolution garden. It was the most interesting for me as it showed the evolution of the plants and it was a new experience for me. The setting of the place is also similar to the stone age and it reminds me a little of the Jurassic Park movie. Here are some of the photos which I took there!

D) Why Singapore Botanic Gardens has been highly ranked on TripAdvisor

The reason why Singapore Botanic Gardens is ranked as the #1 cultural attraction on TripAdvisor is because it has met the needs of the target market. It provides families with young children with activities which are rare in Singapore such as feeding of swans and a place for the children to run around while the parents relax in the garden. The gardens also provides information of the plants there. This would help to interest and   educate students who are studying about plants and people who wish to gain more knowledge about them. This are some photos I took and the interesting information I got from some of the plants!

(My friend taking pictures of the ducks in the lake)

(Oil from the seeds of these plants are used to make laxatives and hair growth stimulants.)

(A plant traditionally used to treat colds, headaches and arthritis)

The unique thing that the Gardens offer is a wide array of flowers, plants and beautiful scenery. It also houses Singapore's first rubber tree. Another interesting thing is that we saw the tree that is on the Singapore five dollar note, the Tembusu Tree!

(Photo I took of the tree)

(Comparison, Photo from: http://farm1.staticflickr.com/67/190510558_78eeece427.jpg)

A competitor of this attraction would be Gardens by the Bay. Even though both attractions showcases plants and flowers, Singapore Botanic Gardens would be a better choice for nature lovers as it is a natural environment. Gardens by the Bay is a man-made environment and it would be targeted to people who prefer a more urban garden.

Singapore Botanic Gardens is the only botanic gardens in the world to open from 5am to 12 midnight every single day of the year, and has free admission, except for the National Orchid Garden.

E) Impact on Singapore

Economic Impact

Since the Gardens is a public sector, the attraction does not help the government earn income. In fact, it is relies on sponsorships and government funds. The cost of maintaining the attraction is also costly. However, the Singapore Botanic Gardens have an economic impact on Singapore as it helps create more jobs for people, especially when they have events, as there would be people needed to help out.

Environmental Impact

The garden is a natural environment, and because of that, tourism poses as a threat and problem due to the possibilities that plant life could be destroyed as a result of the high amount of visitors. Visitors might step on the grass or pull flowers out from the plants. Pollution in the garden such as littering and smoking is also damaging to the environment. Therefore, special precautions are taken by Singapore Botanic Gardens such as fines for smoking and bins to prevent littering.

(Recycle bins used instead of normal litter bins to encourage a more eco-friendly environment as well)

Socio-cultural Impact

Large crowds of people can ruin the atmosphere of the Gardens, as one of the core product it offers is relaxation. Therefore, large crowds can cause noise pollution and destroy the peace and relaxing atmosphere at the place. 

The place is really huge so I would recommend you to get a brochure or a map before exploring the gardens. 

Alright, that is all about Singapore Botanic Gardens! I hope that you liked my recommendation and would pay Singapore Botanic Gardens a visit! Aside from that, we should really find some time to meet up! Give me a call when you are in Singapore and maybe we could plan to meet up. See you soon! :)

References:

• Singapore botanic gardens. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.sbg.org.sg/index.asp
• Singapore botanic gardens. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.tripadvisor.com.sg/Attraction_Review-g294265-d310900-Reviews-Singapore_Botanic_Gardens-Singapore.html
• Singapore botanic gardens. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Singapore_Botanic_Gardens
• (n.d.). Retrieved from http://farm1.staticflickr.com/67/190510558_78eeece427.jpg
• Temasek Polytechnic. (2013). Attractions Management Lecture 2: Attractions as Service Products. Singapore:Temasek Polytechnic Leisure and Resort Management Division.
• Temasek Polytechnic. (2013). Attractions Management Lecture 1: Attractions Management in Perspective. Singapore:Temasek Polytechnic Leisure and Resort Management Division.