SINGAPORE - It used to see crowds of up to 20,000 only on weekends - but these days, it's the typical scene on weekdays.
Since the integrated resort on the island opened, Sentosa has seen a surge in visitors, hitting historical records on some days, and it has taken steps to cope with this happy problem.
Between February and April, the island received over 30 per cent more visitors than in the same period last year. And they aren't just making a beeline for Universal Studios Singapore or Resorts World Sentosa. Long-time attractions and house staples managed by Sentosa Leisure Group - like the Merlion and Images of Singapore - are enjoying renewed interest, drawing 26 per cent more visitors.
Sentosa attributed the swelling figures to the turnaround in the economy and said that within five years, it is projecting guest arrivals to more than double.
Mr Rajavarman M, assistant manager of admission operations, said: "On weekends, we are seeing a slightly bigger peak crowd that we only used to see during certain public holidays. And on Chinese New Year, we hit a near-100,000-strong crowd, which we have never seen before."
To manage the crowds, manpower and resources have been stepped up by as much as 50 per cent.
Mr Rajavarman said: "We have got queue management plans ... We study traffic patterns and increase the trains and buses accordingly." For instance, seven island buses used to run on weekdays; now it's 14. And on weekends, 21 buses ply the Sentosa roads.
CCTV cameras are used to track crowd sizes at the Sentosa Express train stations at Waterfront, Imbiah, Beach and Sentosa.
"On peak days, trains run at an average interval of three minutes, bringing 4,000 guests per hour per direction," said Mr Rajavarman.
Visitors are promised they will not have to wait for more than 15 minutes for a train.
An LCD screen at Beach Station car park shows the traffic situation at Sentosa Gateway and the Telok Blangah junction during peak periods, to help motorists and visitors avoid the jams.
And Sentosa deploys auxiliary police officers to manage traffic build-up at the various points.
Sentosa is also working with partners like St James Power Station to improve traffic conditions, staggering the timing of key events, among other measures.
Meanwhile, the Sentosa Boardwalk is expected to be completed by the end of this year or early next year. Guests will then be able to access Sentosa and Resorts World Sentosa using the covered travellators.
The newly-refurbished cable car will also serve as another way to get to the island, once it is completed.
Since the integrated resort on the island opened, Sentosa has seen a surge in visitors, hitting historical records on some days, and it has taken steps to cope with this happy problem.
Between February and April, the island received over 30 per cent more visitors than in the same period last year. And they aren't just making a beeline for Universal Studios Singapore or Resorts World Sentosa. Long-time attractions and house staples managed by Sentosa Leisure Group - like the Merlion and Images of Singapore - are enjoying renewed interest, drawing 26 per cent more visitors.
Sentosa attributed the swelling figures to the turnaround in the economy and said that within five years, it is projecting guest arrivals to more than double.
Mr Rajavarman M, assistant manager of admission operations, said: "On weekends, we are seeing a slightly bigger peak crowd that we only used to see during certain public holidays. And on Chinese New Year, we hit a near-100,000-strong crowd, which we have never seen before."
To manage the crowds, manpower and resources have been stepped up by as much as 50 per cent.
Mr Rajavarman said: "We have got queue management plans ... We study traffic patterns and increase the trains and buses accordingly." For instance, seven island buses used to run on weekdays; now it's 14. And on weekends, 21 buses ply the Sentosa roads.
CCTV cameras are used to track crowd sizes at the Sentosa Express train stations at Waterfront, Imbiah, Beach and Sentosa.
"On peak days, trains run at an average interval of three minutes, bringing 4,000 guests per hour per direction," said Mr Rajavarman.
Visitors are promised they will not have to wait for more than 15 minutes for a train.
An LCD screen at Beach Station car park shows the traffic situation at Sentosa Gateway and the Telok Blangah junction during peak periods, to help motorists and visitors avoid the jams.
And Sentosa deploys auxiliary police officers to manage traffic build-up at the various points.
Sentosa is also working with partners like St James Power Station to improve traffic conditions, staggering the timing of key events, among other measures.
Meanwhile, the Sentosa Boardwalk is expected to be completed by the end of this year or early next year. Guests will then be able to access Sentosa and Resorts World Sentosa using the covered travellators.
The newly-refurbished cable car will also serve as another way to get to the island, once it is completed.
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