Visitors Join Major Celebrations to usher in the Chinese New Year
Dubai, United Arab Emirates: Thousands of revellers visited Singapore's Chinatown on the eve of Chinese New Year this week, taking part in the countdown and witnessing the spectacular fireworks and firecrackers.
Every year, the month long 'Chun Jie' or Spring Festival is celebrated in style with cultural shows and colourful performances. It heralds the arrival of spring, signifying a time for a fresh start, and is the cause of joyous celebrations throughout Singapore.
"Events like Chinese New Year, which is one of Singapore's biggest and most popular festivals, reflect the cultural diversity and excitement of life in Singapore, and we would like to invite travellers from the Middle East to join us in these celebrations," said Ke-Wei Peh, Area Director - Singapore Tourism Board, Middle East and Africa.
"Singapore offers a wide range of unique experiences and for visitors who have not experienced Chinese New Year before, this is a great opportunity to see the colour and spectacle first-hand," he added.
For the event, Chinatown has been transformed with colourful light displays lining the streets, festive archways and street bazaars selling New Year accessories and festive goodies. The light-up and celebrations in Chinatown will be on until 4 March 2007.
Toward the end of Chinese New Year, on 23 and 24 February, Singapore's Orchard Road will host the grandest street and floats parade in Asia. Chingay Parade of Dreams showcases the rich, vibrant multiculturalism of Singapore with beautiful and spectacular floats, elaborately costumed local and international performers and daredevil stunts and entertaining acts.
Singapore has emerged as a very popular destination for Middle East travellers, with numbers rising visitor more than 10,000 in 2006 - a growth of about 16 percent - compared to 2005.
In 2006, Singapore received more than 82,000 visitors from the region, breaking previous records.
The top five countries in the region in terms of visitor numbers were - in descending order - the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Iran, Kuwait and Qatar.
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About Singapore Tourism Board
The Singapore Tourism Board (STB) is an economic development agency for one of Singapore's key service sectors - tourism. The mission of the Board is to develop and champion tourism, so as to build the sector into a key driver of economic growth for Singapore. The STB aims to differentiate and market Singapore as a must-visit destination offering enriching experiences through the "Uniquely Singapore" brand. For more information, please visit www.stb.com.sg or visitsingapore.com.
© Press Release 2007
