Volume: 13  Number: 2  Page: 123–135

Planning, Changing Landscapes and Tourism in Singapore

Joan C. Henderson Associate Professor, Nanyang Business School, Nanyang Technological University, Nanyang Avenue, Singapore 639798

The paper discusses approaches to certain forms of official planning, the values which underpin them and implications for tourism, with particular reference to Singapore and its natural and cultural resources. Government efforts to mould nature and culture through planning, in accordance with visions of its preferred states, are reviewed and some concerns about the extent of interference and the results are revealed. The landscapes created may be excessively ordered and lacking in spontaneity, with doubts about authenticity, features that adversely affect their sustainability as visitor attractions. Insights are thus afforded into underlying imperatives and the linkages which connect planning, environmental and social policies, political ideologies, and tourism in relatively newly independent states and more widely.

Keywords: Singapore, tourism, planning, natural and cultural landscapes

© 2005 J.C. Henderson

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