Singapore Rides Wave of Publicity from ‘Crazy Rich Asians’

When the film “Crazy Rich Asians” opened in theaters last summer, travel insiders joked that it was the most expensive tourism video ever made. The $30 million movie was filmed on location in Singapore, showcasing the destination in a way no traditional advertising could match. 

Now it’s official: Singapore is, indeed, benefiting from its star turn in the rom-com hit, along with other publicity generators (such as the Trump-Kim summit), said Ivan Tan, senior vice president of marketing and communications for the Singapore Changi Airport. Total arrivals for 2018 were up 6.2%, to 18.5 million, and tourism expenditures were up slightly to $20 billion.

During a recent visit to New York to publicize the opening of the city’s newest attraction, Canopy Park, Tan noted that the U.S. showed the biggest increase in arrivals to Singapore of all top markets, with a 14% rise and 650,000 Americans making the trip. That was followed by Britain and India, which each registered 13% gains in their tourist traffic to the island nation. And hotel occupancy rates are the highest in a decade, exceeding 87% this year, according to the real estate services company, Cushman & Wakefield.

Discovery Slides at Jewel Changi Airport’s Canopy Park.

The shopping and entertainment complex with a domed futuristic design is as over-the-top as some of the scenes in “Crazy Rich Asians.” It’s located at the topmost level of Jewel, which is consistently voted the world’s best airport, in annual surveys by Skytrax and others.

Housed in a glass-and-steel edifice designed by famed architect Moshe Sadfie, Canopy Park features a 130-foot rainwater cascade, billed as the world’s largest indoor waterfall. It also houses indoor gardens with ponds, trails and sculptures, as well as dozens of boutiques, restaurants and a movie theater. For travelers, Jewel offers an additional airport hotel option, a new YotelAir property, with 130 “cabins” (which is how the chain describes its minimalist rooms) plus a 24/7 fitness center.

Bouncing nets at Jewel Changi Airport’s Canopy Park.

More flight options between the U.S  and Singapore, such as United Airlines’ direct flights to San Francisco, are also stimulating demand. Last fall, Singapore Airlines revived its ultra-long-distance nonstops to New York and Los Angeles; and this September, it will launch flights to its fifth U.S. destination, Seattle, with thrice-weekly nonstop service, increasing to four times a week in October.

Ultimately, Tan said, Changi will need to expand. It handled 65 million passengers last year. Plans are underway for a fifth terminal, Terminal 5, to be completed by 2030. Runway capacity will be expanded as well, he said.