Chinatown businesses hopeful for tourism rebound with lifting of travel restrictions, revitalisation of area

Businesses at the once bustling tourist hot spot of Chinatown are, like many others in Singapore, hoping for a swift revival with the easing of Covid-19 measures.

Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong's announcements on Thursday (March 24) about the lifting of most restrictions for fully vaccinated tourists entering Singapore was welcomed by store owners and workers alike, who are counting down till the streets of Chinatown are crowded again.

Ms Lim Yick Suan, executive director of Chinatown Business Association, told The Straits Times: "Chinatown is one of Singapore's top 10 destinations... and with the opening of our borders, we are expecting to see more tourists."

Madam Irene Tham, who has run Li Dou Departmental Store in Chinatown Complex for more than 20 years, recalled the days when tour buses lined the street outside the Buddha Tooth Relic Temple every day.

The 67-year-old, who sells souvenirs from her ground-floor store, said she hopes the easing of travel measures will revitalise the area.

"I hope that like in the past, people from neighbouring countries will come to buy apparel in droves."

Tourism experts, too, welcomed the easing of Singapore's borders as it would drive more tourists to visit Singapore and Chinatown.

Mr Benjamin Cassim, manager of Temasek Polytechnic's diploma in hospitality and tourism management, said he would like to see a return of traditional and local food and beverage as well as an increase in retail offerings within Chinatown.

This will "keep the local residents coming back to Chinatown on weekdays and weekends", and in turn make it a must-visit precinct for international visitors, he said.

"Places that are popular with local residents automatically become part of the 'experience what the locals experience' culture that tourists are now looking to enjoy."

One popular food destination in Chinatown, however, has not survived to see the imminent tourism renaissance.

Chinatown Food Street was among the businesses that went belly-up during the pandemic.

The 100m stretch of hawker carts in Smith Street ended a 20-year run in October last year with its operator Select Group, lamenting then that business was not sustainable as there were "no tourists or local crowd" and the tenants were not paying their rent.

The food street's closure also impacted stalls in the vicinity.

Mr Ang Seng, 54, who manages Ah Pui Tiong Bahru Satay in a ground-floor unit in the row of shophouses flanking the food street, said the restaurant experienced a 80 per cent decline in business since the food street closed.

"I hope there will be more activities and events, or even the reopening of the food street, to rejuvenate this place," said Mr Ang.

The lease of the food street, which is still held by Select Group, will expire on April 30.

Responding to queries from The Straits Times about the food street, the Singapore Land Authority, Singapore Tourism Board (STB) and the Urban Redevelopment Authority said in a joint reply that the relevant agencies conducted an exercise in February this year to "solicit feedback on potential concepts for the plot of land on Smith Street".

"We will continue to engage precinct stakeholders and heritage groups to shape the development of Chinatown, including supporting relevant uses that complement the character of the Conservation Area and enrich the experience of both locals and visitors," they added.

A worker at religious paraphernalia store, Nam's Supplies, in Smith Street, Mr Yuen Wai Keong, 58, hopes that a bar or beer garden will take the place of the former food street to bring nightlife to the vicinity.

Source: The Straits Times