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The
Straits Times, 16 Apr 04
Forget Disneyland, try Holland Village instead
STB's Pamelia Lee, who launches book, also announces her retirement
by Serene Goh
BUILDING a Disneyland in Singapore will not make it a tourist draw.
It is a non-starter, said industry veteran Pamelia Lee, 62, who is
retiring from the Singapore Tourism Board after 26 years. Retiring
from the Singapore Tourism Board after 26 years, tourism veteran Pamelia
Lee notes that Singapore should draw tourists with its lifestyle.
She believes the country is better off preserving and developing existing
attractions like Holland Village, instead of copying ideas. After
all, she said, 'part of the whole product is the Singapore lifestyle'.
'Somehow, we are smitten with the idea that with money we can build
everything,' she said at a press conference to launch her book Singapore,
Tourism & Me.
Mrs Lee, who had risen to become senior director at STB, announced
her retirement at the press conference. Though indelibly identified
with Singapore tourism, she comes from that other tourist paradise,
Hawaii, and arrived here in 1966 as the bride of Dr Lee Suan Yew,
Senior Minister Lee Kuan Yew's fifth and youngest sibling.
She edited her mother-in-law's culinary classic, Mrs Lee's Cookbook,
in the 1960s. Bringing up four children did not keep her from a career
in tourism; retirement will not stop her involvement, either, though
she will no longer have an executive role at Special Projects and
STB Consultancy department.
She will continue to be managing director for Southern Island Developments,
a strategic business unit of the Sentosa Development Corporation.
But Mrs Lee, never at a loss for words, would not comment on the possibility
of a casino in Singapore, an idea that Trade and Industry Minister
George Yeo floated in Parliament last month.
Rather, she spoke about her concerns: That tourism here could face
a slow erosion because of the strength of the Singapore dollar, and
its lack of 'wow attractions', especially when competing with countries
like China and India.
Her commitment to tourism was also noted by her co-workers and her
family. Ms Georgette Tan Adamopoulous, 43, who worked with her from
1988 to 1992, said her passion has remained constant through the years.
Her daughter Shermay, 28, who runs a cooking school, said: 'She eats,
breathes and lives tourism, conservation and architecture. It's not
a nine-to-five job for her. It's a whole mindset.' She recalled overseas
vacations when her mother would study the dustbins, toilets and even
door handles to examine how they were made. 'She would take pictures
and bring them back to show her officers at STB,' she said.
Mrs Lee said she is constantly thinking of new ways to make tourists
happier. 'I see tourists coming out of Botanic Gardens and they're
so hot, I just want to give them cold, wet towels,' she said. She
thinks her ability to adapt explains how she has outlasted a series
of chairmen and chief executive officers at the board. It comes from
growing up in easy-going Hawaii, she said, where a favourite phrase
is 'that's okay!'.
'Every chairman brings with him different strengths. I try to adapt
to the things that I don't like so much, because my main objective
is not to please the bosses, but to think about what tourists like.'
And tourism's promoters will have to do the same, she said, if Singapore
is to remain a significant player. 'We're going to have to come up
with some very clever and ingenious things to bring tourists in. And
it's not impossible. All we have to do is make every tourist happier.'
Singapore's gems
From Instant Asia to Perfecting the Jewel to nurturing true Singapore
gems, Mrs Pamelia Lee has seen it all. Here are some excerpts from
her book.
THE 1970s AND 1980s
'In the 1970s, we liked the idea of being 'Instant Asia'. We promised
visitors the chance to experience all of Asia in one stop. We also
expected instant action and change. This carried on into the 1980s,
when we thought our historic districts would change for the better
and revitalise themselves instantly. We were not always successful.'
'By the 1980s, the charm of Singapore had indeed diminished. ...While
in the 1960s and 1970s the focus was on marketing Singapore overseas,
in the 1980s, we started to look inward.'
'Instead of limiting ourselves to tourism attractions like the Handicraft
Centre, the Rasa Singapura Food Centre and the Instant Asia Cultural
Show, the Singapore Tourism Board started to enhance areas in Singapore
that did not come under its purview. The festive light-up of Chinatown,
Little India and Kampong Glam were introduced. In 1984, we introduced
the festive lights along Orchard Road.'
THE 1990s
'The new tourism plan based on the concept of 'Perfecting the Jewel'
focused on four zones, 10 winning themes and Singapore as part of
the region. The four zones were the Civic District, Singapore River,
Orchard Spring and the Southern Islands. The themes were Nostalgic
Singapore, Nightlife Singapore-Style, Deliciously Colourful and Fun,
Family Theme Parks, World-Class Events, Rustic Singapore, Style Singapore
or unique Singapore designs, Courting Asia, Educational Tourism and
Quality Keepsakes.'
THE 2000s
'Every decade, a nation needs a tourism report card and an inventory
of all the things that really worked...Holland Village, Night Safari,
Botanic Gardens, Raffles Hotel, Fullerton Hotel and breakfast at the
zoo...They are national tourism gems that need to be recognised, refreshed
with a gentle, not dramatic hand, and rewarded where possible so that
they could do more.'
Singapore, Tourism And Me by Pamelia Lee is available at all good
bookshops for $19. |
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