Botanic Gardens top park in Asia on Tripadvisor

Botanic Gardens top park in Asia on Tripadvisor

For the second year in a row, Singapore Botanic Gardens has been ranked the top park in Asia by leading US travel website TripAdvisor.

It beat the likes of Jingshan Park in Beijing and Japan's Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park to top the park category of this year's TripAdvisor Travellers' Choice Awards, which is in its 12th year. The park category was added last year.

Overall, Singapore Botanic Gardens came in 11th in the world, with Stanley Park in Vancouver ranked No. 1.

The ranking was determined through an algorithm that considered the number of ratings and the quality of ratings on a scale of one to five, over a year.

"It is difficult not to use words like stunning when talking about the marvellous Botanic Gardens of Singapore," wrote TripAdvisor user Suratrichard from Thailand last December. "As you walk into the gardens, you keep finding more and more beautiful plants which are nearly all clearly labelled. So have a notebook handy as well as a fully charged battery in your camera."

In a press statement yesterday, Dr Nigel Taylor, director of Singapore Botanic Gardens, said: "This is an encouragement to us as we continue to work towards conserving the living heritage of the gardens for future generations to enjoy."

Ms Barbara Messing, TripAdvisor chief marketing officer, said in a press release: "TripAdvisor travellers have helped identify some of the best attractions around the globe.

"These award-winning landmarks and parks are an ideal starting point for taking in the world's must-see sights."

The gardens receive about 4.4 million visits every year, and this is expected to rise to six million visits a year in 2021.

By then, the Botanic Gardens MRT station on the Circle Line will be connected to the upcoming Downtown Line. Another station will also open near the attraction on the future Thomson Line. The opening of the Botanic Gardens MRT station in 2011 added about half a million visits per year.

The 155-year-old Singapore Botanic Gardens had submitted its bid to become the country's first Unesco World Heritage Site earlier this year. The results will be revealed next year.

It is a hit not just overseas but in Singapore too. Ms Ryane Wong, 24, said it is the ideal picnic spot.

"It is pretty sitting next to the water and you can sometimes see birds. It is a good place to chill and hang out," the project executive said.


This article was first published on June 18, 2014.
Get a copy of The Straits Times or go to straitstimes.com for more stories.

This website is best viewed using the latest versions of web browsers.