Hi Jessica, on Thursday, 8th May 2014, I went on a field trip to Port of Lost Wonder (POLW) and I have learnt a lot about the attraction. I will now share all that I know to you since you are keen to learn about the attraction prior to your visit.

Motivating Factors

So, are you curious about the motivating factors that will interest you to visit POLW?

Without further ado, I will tell you the factors that will motivate you to visit the attraction. They are Fun, Thrill and Excitement, New Experienceand Sensations, Easily Accessible, Education and status.

To begin with, the children will definitely have fun in POLW as the attraction have got various activities planned in a such way that allows children to have tremendous amount of fun. The Bubble Party is one of the most popular activities conducted in POLW where children aged between 3-10 can dive into a pool of foam filled with thousands of bubbles, pop bubbles and can even create different shapes using foam. Not only the Bubble Party, the POLW also has activities such as the POLW Boogie where children of all ages can create their very own groovy dance moves out of their own imagination and also Playchute where children aged between 3-9 can interact with each other to learn teamwork, co-operation and most importantly have fun in the process! In addition, the wonder crews would also join the children in dancing and the Playchute activity to create a much more fun atmosphere for the children to play and have fun in. All the activities stated above can be participated by children of all ages, however the experience gained would be much more enjoyable for the children of the suggested ages.

Also, POLW provides thrill and excitement for the children. The Pirate Ship is another popular spot where the children enjoy being at as there are water jets and water guns for the children to play Capture the Flag. Capture the Flag is another activity conducted by the POLW to provide thrill and excitement for the childrenas they have to compete with other children in a friendly and exciting way to capture the flag in order to win the match. Moreover, the Pirate Ship has 3 different slides in 3 different colours and speeds for the children to experience the thrill. The 3 different colours each represent the different speeds where the red is the fastest, followed by the green and lastly the blue which is the slowest of the 3 slides.

Furthermore, New Experience and Sensations are also part of POLW's activity criteria. The Tree of Wonder is an activity that allows the children to experience making their own souvenir, and even grow their own plant! The children will also get to make their very own Leaf Craft Greeting Cards from scratch. Pots & Planks is an activity similar to The Tree of Wonder as this activity too allows children to grab a pot and plant the seeds and watch the plants grow! However, for this activity, the children get to experience picking ripe berries and cherries on their own for consumption.

POLW is Easily Accessible as it costs $10 on weekdays which includes the 50 curio coins port pass and $15 on weekends which includes the 100 curio points port pass for the entire day. Although it costs more to visit POLW on the weekends, they also provide more activities and an extra of 50 curio coins for the children on Saturdays and Sundays in return so it is definitely worth your money even if you visit POLW on the weekends. Moreover, the entrance fee is only applicable to your child as you and your family above the age of 12 need not pay for the entrance fee and can enter the attraction for free regardless the number of people entering the attraction.

In addition, it provides Education for your child through the use of Curio Coins. First, you might be wondering what exactly are Curio Coins? They are the special currency children can use within the Port of Lost Wonder. Curios Coins are the way to pay for the activities that your child want to participate in therefore, it is a chance for your child to manage their finances. This will teach your child to beindependent, develop a kind financial sense and learn how to make decisions for themselves. Also, Teach us Wild is another platform to educate your children in terms of gaining more knowledge as POLW will conduct a parrot show to entertain the children and in the process, children willlearn about the important topics of nature and animal as well as interact with the feathery animals.POLW also encourages children to play traditional games such as Hop Scotch and Five Stones. Thus, as a result, it will allow children to learn more about the Singapore culture and it is also a chance for family bonding as children will get to play with the games that their parents used to play in the 70s and 80s.

POLW is actually a very popular attraction for children and even famous artistes such as Hong Kong actress Cecilia Chung and Singaporean Mandopop singer Stefanie Sun had brought their sons to the POLW to have fun. Furthermore, famous Singaporean blogger Xiaxue had also brought her son Dashiel to the POLW for several times. This proves that the attraction was also highly enjoyed and appreciated by the people in the entertainment industry.Therefore, it also creates some sort of status if you visit the attraction.

Unique Nature of the Attraction

POLW is Singapore’s very first kids’ club and has a very unique pricing strategy as instead of charging the number of people that enter the attraction, it only charges the child. Therefore, it means that parents and other family members can enter the attraction for free as POLW highly encourages and emphasize family bonding. For instance, if parents want to bring their child to an attraction, they would think twice about whether both of the parents should go with the child or about whether they should bring the child’s grandparents along because of the entrance free. The unique point of POLW is that they do not want the visitors to worry about the entrance free, but to come together as a family to enjoy the day and create wonderful memories with the childthus, they came out with this pricing strategy.

Most children love to receive presents for Christmas, therefore do you want to know what POLW had done to surprise these children? The POLW had organised a Christmas event called the Christmas Joy and at the event, they had a Christmas tree where the children could write their wishes on a piece of paper and then hang their wishes on the Christmas tree. Then, as an attraction that wants to give their visitors a very memorable and unforgettable Christmas and also to create customer loyalty, they hand-picked ten wishes to fulfil even after the event had already came to an end. You must be pondering on how POLW found out the exact size or the favourite colour of the child. The wonder crews actually went on an extra mile to telephone the children’s parents to ask them questions such as their child’s favourite colour, size, and particular liking for a certain model of the thing the child wanted. The wonder crews even collaborated with the parents to keep the present a secret to the child so as to give them a surprise! Furthermore, POLW not only bought the gifts for them. They even sent it directly to the door step of their houses and this is something that they want to do every year.

POLW actually has 2 gates at the entrance, and only the child is allowed enter the attraction via the smaller gate and this will actually allow the child to feel special. In addition, POLW really care a lot about the children as they really emphasize on the hygiene and cleanliness of the Pirate Ship where most children usually play at. The wonder crews check the pH level of the water 3 times a day, have lab tests done once a week and conducts maintenance once a month.

Challenges

Overall, the attraction is labour intensive as many wonder crews are needed to manage the different activities conducted around the attraction and also to ensure the safety of the children. For example, the Pirate Ship alone has 3 wonder crews stationed at the area. However, what has worsened the situation is the lack of manpower in the service sector and thus, it has deprived the POLW of the chance to bring in more wonder crews for the attraction. Moreover, not all people are suitable to be a wonder crew as wonder crews have to work for long hours under the hot sun and also must have the basic first-aid skills to deal with any emergencies that happen in POLW. Therefore, young and healthy able-bodied youths are preferred to take up the job as a wonder crew as it is a very tedious job.

Also, the POLW lack of novel ideas for programming and events because they need to change and improve in some activities they have currently have to encourage repeat visitors. For instance, if the parents are satisfied with the activities that POLW had provided for their child, they would probably bring their child back to the attraction in the future to allow their child to have some more fun. However, if the attraction do not improve on their activities or add in new activities for the child to enjoy, the child would soon get bored of the attraction. Therefore, one of the challenges that POLW is facing is the lack of new ideas to include in the activity schedule. The attraction also must ensure that their activities are different and unique so that it will distinguish them from other competing attractions that have the same target market as them.

Weather is also another concern for POLW as it is an outdoor attraction with limited shelter space so if it were to rain, all activities would have to halt and all the visitors have to squeeze into the small rooms and shelters such as the celebration Island and the curiosity island.

Why it has the potential to be very successful?

Firstly, the attraction is the first and only kid's club in Singapore and their key target market is families with young children between the age of 3-10 and geographically targets the locals and Asians. It has the potential to be successful because of its unique pricing strategy that distinguish them from other attractions. It also has a very enticing Membership package that only cost $120 for the entire year. Although you might think that $120 is quite an expensive price for just the attraction alone, however, the package includes many benefits for the family and you will also receive a special POLW towel. Members will receive a membership card with your photo on it and it allows you to visit the POLW all year round for free and also, you will be able to have priority access to the attraction. Also, members can enjoy unlimited entry into Fort Siloso, Images of Singapore, Singapore Cable Car, Songs of the Sea, The Merlion and Tiger Sky Tower. Therefore, the POLW has the potential to be very successful.

How has it met the needs of visitors?

The POLW has many fun and exciting activities created for the children. They also have a place called the 'The deck' where families can take a rest at after a long day of running around and playing. Also, families can enjoy their meal purchased from the Port Belly under the shady trees. Another reason to compliment the POLW about is that it has a diaper changing corner called the 'Nauti Potty'. Not only that, the Nauti Potty is filled with creative and lovely wall paintings hand drawn by the wonder crews. These drawings would be able to distract the children from fidgeting when their parents are changing their diapers for them. In addition, looking at these beautiful drawings around the POLW will add on to the families' overall experience at the attraction. Furthermore, they also have lockers available for visitors that need a secure corner to place their belongings.

Moreover, the attraction also have a place called the 'Celebration island' where can hold their birthday parties. There is a celebration package where the host can purchase and it includes an extra hour of the pool time and also provides a spread of food. In addition, a birthday host will run the party for around 2 hrs. Furthermore, hosts can choose a theme out of the 3 themes available. The princess theme is recommended for the girls and the pirates, theme is recommended for the boys and last but not least, the aloha theme can be for both boys or girls as there might be a joint celebration between 2 families which coincidentally have children of different genders.

Also, Port Belly is not a halal restaurant as it serves alcohol however, POLW has a food kiosk selling halal food. They also have another restaurant nearby that sells halal food, therefore, these had met the need of muslim visitors.

Has it been successful in promoting itself?

Yes, it has been successful in promoting itself as even though it is a fairly new attraction, many people already have the knowledge about POLW. For example, even Hong Kong actress Cecilia Cheung knew about this place when she is not even a Singaporean. Also, for their anniversary last year, they attracted 700 children and 1400 parents to the attraction which total up to 2100 visitors. The POLW is actually popular to the extent that visitors have to book the tickers 30 days in advance, to avoid disappointment. Thus, the attraction is successful in promoting itself.

The impact the attraction has on Singapore

Economic Impact

The new attraction has created jobs for many people therefore it will more or less affect the employment rate in Singapore. When the employment rate goes up, it means more people would spend money on goods and thus will affect the economy of Singapore. Not only attracting local visitors, POLW will also attract visitors from overseas. As such, the visitor arrivals and tourism receipts would also increase impacting the economy of Singapore.

Socio-cultural impact

The local children and families would have one more attraction to visit and enjoy themselves and in the process encourage family bonding. The pricing of the entrance fee is very reasonable and it is also very convenient to get to the attraction as there are various mode of transport such as the Cable car, Sentosa Express monorail and the public bus transport available to bring you into Sentosa Island.

References

1) Sentosa Port of Lost Wonder Official Website

Available: http://www.polw.com.sg/index.aspx