A study on whether Singapore can establish itself as an urban eco-tourist destination

Abstract

This research examines the reasons and factors attracting urban eco-tourists to Singapore. A survey was designed and conducted to study if Singapore can bank on its experiential richness to attract urban eco-tourists, given the limited natural landscapes available. Also in this study, we will be identifying several demographics and psychographics traits of eco-tourists whom will be interested in visiting Singapore. Finally, we will look at the possible implications on the social well-being of Singapore if urban ecotourism is indeed introduced.

A mixed of both person-administered and self-administered online survey was carried out, and we obtained a total of 534 public responses. We made use of judgmental sampling, as there was no sampling frame available.

Eight hypotheses that were developed from previous literature reviews were tested using statistical tests. Results show that experiential richness of Singapore will appeal to urban eco-tourists. Furthermore, certain demographic and psychographic traits do play a part in motivating eco-tourists to visit Singapore.

With the introduction of eco-tourism in Singapore, the locals generally perceive that it will have a positive impact on their social well-being. However, some locals also expressed concerns regarding further degradation of the environment.

These findings provide valuable insight to the ecotourism tourism industry in Singapore, but a larger sample size would have been more representative of the general eco-tourist population.