Safe and Adequate Parking Spaces for Tour Buses at Attraction Sites

Mr Ang Hin Kee asked the Minister for Trade and Industry (a) whether are there adequate spaces for the parking or stopping of tour buses to ensure safe boarding and alighting of tourists at attraction sites such as the Merlion Park and Chinatown as well as the smooth flow of other motorists in those areas; and (b) what are the common challenges faced by our tour guides and tour bus drivers in ensuring their own safety and those of the tourists they are in-charge of at attraction sites.

Mr S Iswaran (for the Minister for Trade and Industry): In areas of tourism interest, such as the Chinatown Conservation Area and the Merlion Park, the Government has implemented temporary roadside and surface coach parks where it is feasible and there is available State land.

However, it is not always possible to have such coach parking facilities in the immediate vicinity of the attraction. To further assist travel agencies, tourist guides and their coach drivers, the Singapore Tourism Board has issued advisories to inform them of all the coach parking locations and drop-off/pick-up points for popular tourist spots and retailers in central Singapore.

The Singapore Tourism Board, the Land Transport Authority, and the Urban Redevelopment Authority actively monitor the situation on the ground to ensure that safety is not compromised. Agencies have also instituted mitigating measures wherever possible. For instance, the Land Transport Authority has been working with private developers prior to the construction of new tourist attractions to estimate the travel patterns, so that adequate provision for both parking as well as drop-off/pick-up spaces can be made within the new attraction itself.