A trip to Singapore Flyer

Hey Avia!

How have you been? Hope you’re coping well and enjoying yourself in California! I was thrilled upon receiving your email knowing that you’ll be visiting Singapore later this month! But it’s such a bummer to know that you could only visit one attraction! I looked through the list of attractions recommended by TripAdvisor and I personally feel that the Singapore Flyer would definitely be a great attraction for you to visit! It allows you to experience magnificent, panoramic views on the world’s largest observation wheel. For locals and tourists alike, there is only one place in Singapore that offers a bird’s eye view of the entire island city – Singapore Flyer. Now let me tell you more about this attraction!

That's me at the Singapore Flyer!

Before my visit to the Singapore Flyer, I did some research on the attraction using the attraction’s website and here’s what I found out!

Opening Hours: Opens daily from 8:30 AM to 10:30 PM

Price:

• Adult (13 years or older) - $33
• Child (3- to 12 years old) - $21
• Senior (60 years or older) - $24

Maps were offered once you purchase your tickets and signages were clear, well placed and those helped as it guides people around the attraction.

Getting to the Singapore Flyer is simple! You can do so by taking the Mass Rapid Transit (MRT), alight at the Promenade Station (Circle Line, CC4). If you’re travelling by car, there are parking lots available at the multi-storey car park. Buses such as 106, 111 and 133 also go directly to Singapore Flyer. Otherwise, you may take a taxi and drop-off at the taxi stands. To enhance your experience in Singapore, you can also go on a water taxi from several points of attractions to Singapore. 

(a) During my visit to the Singapore Flyer, I noticed that majority of the visitors were groups of families and couples. The main target visitors of this attraction are adults, 25 to 40 years of age. These are the people who are usually working and have a stable source of income. They have sufficient purchasing power to visit such attractions and often bring their family or partner along. 

Everyone, especially children, would definitely be awed by Journey of Dreams, an interactive and fun gallery that offers a deeper appreciation and understanding of the Singapore Story and the iconic Singapore Flyer, told via an engaging multimedia showcase featuring interactive animation and advanced technology. As you know, children love hands-on and interactive products, and I believe they will be able to educate themselves and enjoy at the same time. 

Interactive Wheel

In addition, there are many packages designed for families and couples such as the Basic Family Value pack, High Tea Flight where guests are served with a delightful assortment of tea time pastries. Lastly, the best-selling Sky Dining Flight for two in which couples are served by a dedicated butler with a four-course menu. 

(b) You must be wondering, why I recommended you to visit the Singapore Flyer out of all the attractions listed in TripAdvisor. This is because the Singapore Flyer has become an icon that represents Singapore other than the Esplanade. As the world’s tallest observation wheel, it allows visitors to enjoy unobstructed views from every direction. Be it day or night, you’ll definitely be able to take in the breath taking sights of dynamic Singapore. Furthermore, I do not think you would want to miss this landmark in Singapore as there is no other replacement for an attraction like this. 

Panoramic View of Singapore's Cityscape! 

View of Singapore's cityscape from my capsule

Since it’s your first time visiting Singapore, I believe you do not know much about the country’s past heritage. Fret not! Because before entering the Singapore flyer, you will enter Journey of Dreams, an interactive gallery that would definitely enhance your experience and give you a better understanding of Singapore story and the Singapore Flyer itself. Journey of Dreams features seven new enticing and exciting experiences everyone can look forward to and each segment to the gallery tells a different story. For example, the Fragment of Dreams, whereby visitors are urged to explore Singapore’s culture and architecture which is highlighted by simply shining a torch onto a portrait of old Singapore. With all the interactive displays, I’m pretty sure that you’ll have a great time there and would exit the gallery gaining more knowledge about Singapore. 

Singapore in the PAST

Singapore NOW

This attraction offers you three levels of product which consists of core, tangible and augmented product. The core product the attraction offers is an experience that you cannot get from any other places! It is the only place in Singapore whereby you’ll be able to enjoy the magnificent cityscape of the country and also get to know more about Singapore’s heritage through the newly established Journey of Dreams. 

As for the tangible product, it would be safety measures taken by the attraction and quality of service provided by the employees. The employees there delivered excellent service. When I visited the attraction, the employees greeted me with a warm smile and they were ready to assist me if I have any enquiries. While getting up the flyer, I noticed that an employee helped an elderly get up the capsule first and I thought that they really had good service and would spare a thought for everyone. 

For safety and security, there are mechanical spring loaded safety catch on both doors that can only be operated from the outside of the capsule. As such, it would be impossible for the door to open during the operations. In addition, each capsule has got two custom-made safety anchor points for use in the event of an emergency! Not just that, but Singapore Flyer has adopted airport-style security measures in which passengers and their hand baggage will be scanned before boarding on the second level, which is the passengers-only level. Two security cameras are installed within each capsule to monitor activities and safety measures such as emergency evacuation procedures and readily available first aid are bring provisioned as well. With all these safety precautions taken, I’m sure you’ll be safe up there! 

Notice the safety catch on the door!

Lastly, I have identified several augmented product that the attraction offers. At the attraction, there are ancillary services such as food & beverage and retail services, for example: Singapore Food Trail a 1960’s themed food street that houses delightful collection of some of the nation’s best and most well-known hawkers! Be sure to try some of the local dishes before you leave! Also the Singapore flyer has special services for visitors with special needs. For example, passengers that are wheelchair bound do not have to worry at all! There will be wheelchair access such as ramps and lifts available and toilets for the handicapped.

Singapore Food Trail

Of course, this visit to the Singapore flyer would definitely benefit you! After visiting this attraction, you’ll enjoy intangible benefits such as gaining more knowledge about the past history of Singapore and also know more about how the flyer was being built. The Journey of Dreams would definitely enrich you like how it did enrich me! Furthermore, you’ll be treated to a visual 360 ˚ feast of iconic and historical landmarks such as the Singapore River, Raffles Place, Merlion Park and many more. You can also catch a glimpse of our neighboring Indonesian Spice Islands and the Straits of Johor, Malaysia. The Singapore flyer offers you a moving experience at every turn!

As for the tangible benefits, when you enter the Journey of Dreams gallery, there are engaging and interactive multimedia showcases such as The Discovery and Fragment of Dreams where you’ll be able to turn a dial to see a stream of images that tells you Singapore flyer’s pre and post construction stories. I bet you’re really eager to try out all these right now!

(c) Putting all the excitement aside, now, let me tell you more about the unique nature of the attraction and the challenges it poses for Singapore Flyer. One of the unique nature of Singapore Flyer as a service product is that the staff involved in producing and delivering the product are part of the product itself. This means that the employee’s service quality, attitude and behavior would play a part in the visitor’s experience at the flyer. For example, if an employee is rude towards a visitor when answering his or her questions, the visitor may perceive that all other employees are rude and this would cause the visitors to doubt the service in this attraction, affecting the flyer negatively. Thus, it is important to ensure that all employees are properly trained and ready to serve visitors. If not, the attraction might have lesser visitors compared to before.

Another nature of service product tells us that the customers themselves are involved in the production process and their attitudes and behaviours will affect their experience and that of other visitors.  This poses as a challenge to the attraction because it is impossible to predict variables like these. For example, if it happened that both elderly and young children are being placed in the same capsule, the elderly may not like it. This is so because children are often noisy and if they whine or make loud noises, it would affect the elderly’s experience on the flyer. 

The third nature of service product states that the service product is not standardized. This may be caused by uncontrollable variables such as moods of the employees who are delivering the product. For example, if an employee just got reprimanded by his or her manager, she would probably be unhappy and her quality of service performed may not be up to the usual standard. It might lead to lack of focus during work and maybe unhappiness when responding to a visitor. The attraction will face difficulty in assuring it’s quality of service which might cause the attraction to lose visitors as the visitors might not be pleased with the employee’s standard of service. Thus, poses as a challenge to the attraction as quality control is not easily achievable. 

The fourth nature of service product tells us that the product is perishable and it cannot be stored. In other words, this means that the product is produced and consumed at one and the same time. For example, during the weekdays, there are lesser visitors, which mean that there will be excess tickets that are unsold. If the ticket for this particular day is unsold, it cannot be kept for future use. Thus, it causes the attraction to make lesser revenue during the weekdays and might even lead to a loss if the fixed cost is not being covered. 

Fifth, there is no tangible product to bring home, this has a number of implications as visitors would not be able to inspect the product before purchasing. A challenge faced by the Singapore flyer is that it has to ensure every visitor’s experience is a pleasant one, so that they will provide potential visitors with positive word of mouth. For example, if a visitor had a bad experience at the flyer, he or she would then share her experience with others. After hearing all the negative points of the flyer, a potential visitor might choose not to visit the attraction. Hence, this would result in lesser number of visitors and the attraction would have a bad image.

Finally! The surroundings of the service delivery process are a feature of the service. At the Singapore flyer, the environment in which the service is delivered must be both functional and attractive to the visitors. The overall layout of the attraction is well-designed and visitors need not worry about getting lost because there are signs that will guide them around. Weather is an important factor that will affect the surroundings. Don’t you think that visitors would find the view unattractive if it is raining during their flight on the capsule? That would definitely pose as a challenge for the attraction because weather cannot be predicted and if it rains, visitors would have an unpleasant time there.

(d) Now, let me share with you why I think the attraction has been highly ranked on TripAdvisor. I feel that the attraction has been successful because they have a wide range of facilities, programs, services and procedures that caters to the needs of their target market. 

Some programs and services provided by the Singapore flyer are the different kinds of flights that they offer. For example, World’s First Full Butler Sky Dining, Moët and Chandon Champagne Flight, VIP Signature Cocktail Flight and the newly introduced Singapore Sling Flight. Other than these, the attraction also has packages such as Family Day Package, Kid’s Birthday Party Package and Premium Solemnization Package. 

The attraction has met the needs of the target market as most of the packages involve families and or couples. The Family Day Package aims to attract the families that are interested in visiting the Singapore flyer by offering tickets at a lower price. They have facilities such as the Journey of Dreams which offers interactive showcases that will fascinate and educate children. Couples needs are met as there are different types of flights that aim to target couples, for example, the World’s Full Butler Sky Dining where your loved ones will definitely be impressed by you!

ONEIROI'S ORB @ Journey Of Dreams

PufferSphere @ Journey Of Dreams

So, what makes the attraction so unique? The Singapore Flyer is the only place where you’ll be able to see the entire magnificent cityscape of Singapore. On top of that, you’ll get to experience a full butler sky dining! After your ride on the flyer itself, you can head down to the Rainforest Discovery located at the central atrium of the main Terminal Building. This rainforest has five winding access paths which enables you to enjoy the quiet serenity inside the rainforest. Where should you go when you’re hungry? The Singapore Food Trail of course!  It is an exciting 1960’s concept dining attraction which draws back the nostalgic feel and charm of Singapore in the past. This food trail sells famous local fares and familiar food of the past such as ice balls, Katchang Puteh and many more! There’s no other attractions that offers such facilities and it’s a must to dine there!

Rainforest Discovery

Vintage Store @ Singapore Food Trail

Stall selling Ice Ball

@ Singapore Food Trail

It is without a doubt that the attraction has been successful in promoting itself. One way the Singapore flyer promotes itself is through its official webpage, where by people that are keen to visit the attraction can find out more information about the flyer. For example, it’s packages and upcoming events and activities. The attraction also created a Facebook page posting updates of the Singapore Flyer and engaging its visitors. The Facebook page has about 430 thousand likes and most of the people come from foreign countries. Through this page, visitors would be updated constantly about the events and activities of the Singapore Flyer whenever they scroll through their timeline. 

(e) The attraction has impacted Singapore in the economic, environmental and socio-cultural areas. As for the economic impacts, the Singapore flyer encouraged thousands of overseas visitors to visit Singapore. As a result, this generated tourism receipts as visitors would definitely spend money during their trip to Singapore. This drew in significant foreign currencies which contributed to improving the country as a whole. Also, it created spin-off for other industries, for example, in the Singapore flyer, industries such as food and beverage, maintenance and retail are required. These industries would definitely require service staff, hence, jobs were created and this benefited the citizens. Overall, Singapore’s economy grew as a whole and was beneficial to both country and citizens!

Now, what are some socio-cultural impacts? By developing this attraction, it is seen as a positive development which increases the range of leisure opportunities for locals. In a capsule, visitors of different race and religion may be put together. This means that there is interaction taking place between them. In addition, the short heritage introduction in Journey of Dreams acts as a platform for all three generations to have a great time together. This is because the children can experience some heritage and culture of Singapore while their grandparents would be able to explain it to them since they were born during that period! Foreign visitors would also have a deeper understanding of Singapore’s culture and past! 

Fragments of Dreams @ Journey of Dreams

Last but not least, what are the environmental impacts brought about by the attraction? During the construction of the Singapore Flyer, many parts of the natural environment were damaged. Noise and air pollution were some problems faced during construction. Noise pollution might disrupt the guest’s rest time if they are staying in the hotels near Marina Bay area. Also, it may bring detrimental effects to the hearing ability of construction workers and bosses especially when they enter the construction venue often. Air pollution, would increase the chances of global warming as it might contain harmful particles that would destroy the ozone layer. Furthermore, people works or visit that area might breathe in air that can bring harm to their bodies.

After looking through my research and findings on the Singapore Flyer, I hope you understood what I said and it would be great to know that I’ve helped and answered those questions accurately! I hope you’ll have a great time in Singapore and of course, the Singapore Flyer! Don't forget! You can also purchase and bring home some souvenirs from the Singapore Flyer Gift Shop! 

Singapore Flyer Gift Shop