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Businesses operating on the resort will be allowed to defer 50% of their rental payments for April to June, with payments made in interest-free instalments within a period of 12 months.
Visitors to Sentosa will enjoy free admission on the resort island from 14 March until end-June, as part of efforts to attract locals and support businesses.
Sentosa Development Corporation (SDC) said the move is an extension of an earlier plan to offer free admission during the March school holidays, reported CNA.
Businesses operating on the resort island will also be granted rental deferments to “enhance support” after receiving feedback on business sentiment, added SDC.
Businesses will be allowed to defer 50% of their rental payments for April to June. SDC noted that the deferred rental could be paid in interest-free instalments within a period of 12 months.
“Both the island admission waiver and rental deferment take into account requests and inputs shared by island partners,” explained SDC.
Since early February, Sentosa registered a 20% to 50% fall in visitor number and sales.
Senior Minister of State for Trade and Industry Chee Hong Tat hopes the extended period of admission waiver will encourage more Singaporeans to visit the island, while the flexible rental payments will help businesses with cash flow issues.
He revealed that the new measures are aimed at increasing support for the resort-island’s tourist-dependent businesses, which have been significantly affected by the COVID-19 outbreak.
“We are in this together,” he said after a tour at Sentosa. “We want to work together with our island partners.”
Meanwhile, SDC revealed that it is also ramping up promotional efforts with its Stay and Play Programme, which offers various promotions and deals like hotel and attraction packages for this month.
“We want to encourage people to visit the island,” said Chee. “We want to encourage more people to do staycations, to come here for F&B and visit the attractions.”
Kwee Wei-Lin, Senior Vice President of Hotels at Pontiac Land Group, recalled that during the SARS outbreak, locals emerged as a good source of revenue, helping their hotels survive.
“We hope Singaporeans will come and enjoy themselves, not just stay at our hotels but also eat at our restaurants and enjoy our spas as well.”
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Victor Kang, Digital Content Specialist at PropertyGuru, edited this story. To contact him about this or other stories, email victorkang@propertyguru.com.sg