This month the WTTC city focus looks at Singapore: The city state has seen tourism grow steadily over the last decade, according to WTTC’s recent city report.

With international arrivals increasing every year, the sector generated US$12.4 billion in 2016 - more than double the volume in 2006. This trend is set to continue, with revenues predicted to double again to US$24 billion by 2026.

In 2015 Singapore unveiled its Sustainable Singapore Blueprint, an action plan whose sustainability goals for the next two decades include the aim of becoming a Zero Waste Nation.

Today, the city boasts about 47 per cent green cover, with over 80 per cent of households having no more than a 10-minute walk from a park. By 2030, the city also aims to have 700km of cycle paths and 180 km of ‘Nature Ways’ - green corridors along roadsides that have been developed to connect areas of high biodiversity to urban areas.

The city continues to face pressures from urbanisation. According to a September 2018 article in Eco-Business: "Singapore’s urbanisation rate is estimated at 1.5 per cent a year, with concrete replacing forests in natural areas such as Bukit Timah and Lentor. Secondary forest is making way for an eco tourism hub in Mandai, while a new train line threatens Singapore’s last patch of primary forest in the Central Catchment Nature Reserve."

To address these pressures, the city is also investing heavily in greening measures for buildings. For example, an incentive scheme from National Parks Board pays for half of the installation costs if building owners add greenery to high-rise buildings.