Perceptions Vs Media Representations Of Singapore As A Tourist Destination

We view a multitude of information from our everyday surroundings through lenses made up of our identity, preconceptions and social norms. However, our interpretation of information should not be the only one we consider. In Assessment 3, you will be required to take into account others’ perceptions of a destination in relation to its image as portrayed by the media.

In order to gather others’ perceptions of a destination, you will be required to conduct interviews asking 3 to 5 other WAI students about their impressions of a destination. In these interviews, your aim is to find out the images, emotions and visitor profile that your interviewees associate with a destination.

You will prepare a Plain Language Statement and Informed Consent form as part of your preparations for these interviews. Each interview must be evidenced by a set of notes taken during the interview, or an audio transcript, depending on the mode of recording.

Using both your critical analysis from Assessment 2 and the results of your interviews, evaluate the perception of a destination (from the interviews) in relation to its media representation (as determined in Assessment 2). Comparing this information, identify similarities and discuss differences. Conclude by commenting on how well-aligned perceptions are to media representations for your chosen destination.

This report should comprise at least 3 parts:

1. A summary of the perceptions of the destination, based on your interviews.

2. A summary of media representations of the destination, based on Assessment 2.

1. Comparison between the perceptions and representations.

You should make use of your interview research data, and a variety of media and resources to inform this report. The report should be well-referenced, with use of material taught throughout the semester, including academic journal articles.

Interviews Summary

Different people tour the world for different reasons. Every tourist destination has its unique tourist attraction sites and centres that people find fascinating. Just to mention a few reasons for people to tour around the world, they do it for pleasure, to study and experience other people’s cultures, for school studies, for business and job assignments among other reasons.

Singapore has been known to host dozens of thousands of tourist each year. This is due to its geographic location, physical and man-made features that exist, home of diverse cultures among other reasons. People have different perceptions about how they view different destinations around the world. This is due to people’s differences in preferences, cultures, imaginations, and prejudice. This report, therefore, samples different perceptions different people have when it comes to Singapore as a destination. This report also takes the view of how media represent Singapore through use of videos, movies and other literature. Perceptions and representations are compared to draw up conclusions covered in this paper. 

This section of the paper contains a summary of interviews conducted to determine different people's perspectives regarding Singapore as a tourist destination. The interviews were done randomly and this section covers a summary of three responses of people who have never gone to Singapore. The interviewees are students of William Angliss Institute who participated in the research practice. The questions asked involved the general knowledge about the destination. The knowledge sought for was on Singapore’s location, accommodation available for guests, its economy and infrastructure, cultural diversity and attraction features that exist.

According to the first interviewee, Singapore is a single island located in southern part of Asia neighbouring Thailand and Vietnam. The perspective on culture was that Singapore is occupied by one single ethnic group who are the natives of the land. The interviewee’s perception on attraction features  were that the city-state does not have many physical features as it is a small island. The country however has many man-made features that act as tourist attraction sites. The interviewee also stated that the state must be having good accommodation for its guests attributing this to the rich economy. The country has many sand beaches due to its location which is surrounded by the ocean in all sides. Singapore being a small country, there is no need to have a big international airport as the population to be served is little.

The second interviewee was quite informed about Singapore and had many facts about the destination. Singapore is made up of many islands each with unique features that attract tourists. It is located in Asia and it is one degree south of equator which makes it experience tropical climate. This means that the temperature is favourable for a person from any part of the world as it is average. It is a multicultural land with people from different cultures converging to Singapore. It has fascinating physical features that can be toured including the islands, sandy beaches among others. The city is rich in history as evidenced by old buildings in the city which were constructed as early as 1852. The country has one of the best infrastructures around the world which makes moving from one place easy and convenient. Singapore may, however, lack nature parks since it is a city-state where vegetation might be scarce. The city-state may also lack wild animals as most of the wild animals reside in parks with intense vegetation. Much of the tourist attraction sites in Singapore are manmade as the country covers a small geographical area that is not able to host most of the physical features. Activities such as ice surfing, hiking, and mountain climbing may lack due to features that exist and the State's climate.

Media Representation Summary

The third interviewee also had a different perception pertaining Singapore. Her perception was that Singapore is a small city-state in Asia which is one of the richest countries in terms of economy. This is supposed to mean that streets are filled with expensive cars and fascinating buildings everywhere. The country has shopping malls with one of the best brand collections in the world. The city has one of the best accommodations available for guests as it is expected of any tourist destination. The infrastructure of the country is well developed considering the country’s economy which makes the mobility in the city easy. The population in this city-state is average to small which eliminates traffic congestion. This population also reflects less cultural diversity. The city-state has bays, beaches, nature parks, and other public spaces. Wildlife and conducive climate to visit any time of the year makes it a great tourist destination.

Singapore has historic structures which give a brief history of the country. One of the historic cultures represented is the Araminta and Chimjmes which is a heritage building constructed in 1852 by the Catholic convent. This is a beautiful site which will is educational and nice to tour. There also exist leisure gardens and other public places where one can relax and enjoy the cool breeze. Some of the gardens highlighted in most media representations are gardens by the bay, Marina Bay stands and Sentosa Island (Singaporeexpats.com, 2018 n.p).

Singapore is a land of one of the best airports serving over 100 airlines. This is a clear representation of the number of people visiting the country at any given time. Singapore is a beautiful city-state with modern buildings that are so attractive. These buildings range from skyscrapers to perfectly well-designed normal buildings that are good for the eye at daytime and also at night. Singapore is represented to be a home for diverse cultures. These cultures have different practices and activities that offer a great experience to the visitors. They also have delicious foods that will make any person eager to try and have the feeling. It offers a wide range of options to enjoy this from street food to Michelin-starred restaurants (Stb.gov.sg, 2016).

Singapore is a home of wildlife which adds on to the diversity. The city also has an Oasis within the city which is a fascinating site. In addition to this, the city also offers natural experience to the visitors by the presence of gardens which are very attractive (Hynes, 2018 n.p).  Singapore is made up of several islands with each island offering a unique feature. This gives rise to many beaches and bays that attract dozens of people to visit this destination. This offers many leisure activities such as boat riding, surfing and swimming among many other activities. Construction of international harbours boosts the country’s economy. The country has performed tremendously in building its economy from a third world country to a first world country (Stb.gov.sg, 2016 3-44).

Singapore has an improved infrastructure which enables mobility around the city in a cost-efficient way. The existence of modern trains that traverse all corners of Singapore gives a variety of places to visit as the destination. For shopping lovers, Singapore is a home for many shopping malls among other shopping joints. These malls offer the worlds’ best brands, local and international in all areas that involve shopping (Whitworth, 2016 n.p).

This section of the paper compares the interviews on perception on Singapore as a tourist destination to the media representation of the destination. Critical analysis is done to determine similarities and the differences in the comparison. This section of the paper, therefore, states the similarities and discusses the differences to determine facts about the destination.

 The three interviewees perceived Singapore as a small city-state with a rich economy. They were all able to state that Singapore is in Asia with the second interviewee going an extra mile of giving the location in reference to the equator. Information collected from the three students stated that Singapore is surrounded by the ocean which makes it an Island. This is in line with the media representation as it is evident in the files that Singapore is indeed a small city-state which has been transformed from a third world country to a first world country. It lies one degree on the north of the equator in southern part of Asia. It is composed of one Main Island and sixty-two other islets that make up the whole of Singapore (Singaporeexpats.com, 2018 n.p).

The other similarity noted in the interviewees' perceptions and the media representations are the well-developed infrastructure. The state has an intensive road network that covers all the parts of the country. It has a railway network with modern trains operating at all times of the day which makes transportation even easier. This makes movement of people from one part of the city to the other easy and efficient. The destination has no traffic congestion due to its well-developed infrastructure and low population.

The other similarity in perception and representation is the excellent accommodation facilities that the city offers to its guests. This was stated by all the three interviewees which has also been confirmed by media representation. Accommodation in this destination caters for people from different walks of life where any guest can afford (Stb.gov.sg, 2016 3-44).

There exist few differences in perceptions and representations which can be attributed to the fact that the interviewees had never had a chance to visit the destination. One difference is regarding the airport which serves international flights in Singapore. There were varying perceptions where the second interviewer doubted the existence of a world-class airport. Media representations state that Singapore owns one of the best airports in the world serving more than one hundred airlines around the world. The country also owns port of Singapore which holds the title of maritime capital (Stb.gov.sg, 2016).

The other difference that is evident is the cultural diversity in Singapore. Varying perceptions of the interviewees were a clear indication that they think Singapore is a single-cultural state. Media representations, however, point out that Singapore is a home for many cultures. This can be evidenced by the existence of restaurants serving delicacies of different cultures around the world. Facts state that 39% of the total population is made up of foreign nationals (Singaporeexpats.com, 2018 n.p).

 The other difference in the perceptions and media representations is the existence of diverse attraction features. Singapore is home to many tourist attraction features ranging from historical features, physical features, and man-made features. Examples to this are the Marina bay sands, gardens by the bay, wildlife in zoo and parks, Singapore flyers among other features (Hynes, 2018 n.p).

Conclusion

It is clear that different people have different perceptions regarding Singapore as a destination. Some of these perceptions are a close reflection of how Singapore is while others do not really reflect the image of the destination. Different media gives a clearer picture of Singapore as a true reflection of its image in the eyes of the world. There is a close relation to of perceptions of people who have never been in this country and the image portrayed by the media. This can be attributed to the various forms of accessing information through the use of modern technology.

It is evident in this report that there is more than meets the eye when it comes to Singapore as a tourist destination. The diverse culture, the historical features, the geography and the geographical position of the country are just but a few attractions that may lead people to visit Singapore. Conclusions made from perceptions therefore may be a true reflection of the destination only to a small percentage.

References

Hynes, C. (2018). 16 Top-Rated Tourist Attractions in Singapore - The 2018 Guide | PlanetWare. Retrieved from https://www.planetware.com/tourist-attractions/singapore-sin.htm n.p

Singaporeexpats.com. (2018). About Singapore • History, Facts, Culture & Language, Climate & Location. Retrieved from https://www.singaporeexpats.com/about-singapore/about-singapore.htm n.p

Stb.gov.sg. (2016). Marketing Strategy: of stories fans and channels. Retrieved from https://www.stb.gov.sg/assistance-and-licensing/Documents/Marketing_Strategy-Of_Stories_Fans_and_Channels.pdf p3-44

Whitworth, R. (2016). Welcome to Singapore. Retrieved from https://vimeo.com/167270801