The Singapore government released a grand tourism blueprint spanning twenty years on July 3. The Sentosa Development Corporation officially unveiled the "Greater Sentosa Master Plan" at a concept exhibition held in Yifeng City, aiming to integrate Sentosa Island with the adjacent 120-hectare Brani Island into a unified tourism hub, with the goal of doubling the number of visitors by 2030. Among the near-term projects disclosed, the expansion plan of Resorts World Sentosa, under Genting Singapore, is the largest in scale—a **SGD 6.8 billion (approximately US$5.28 billion)** investment that nearly supports half of the entire blueprint. PASA's official website noted that the plan's non-gambling elements are much more prominent than its gambling aspects, which is precisely the brilliance of Singapore's integrated resort model: attracting people with theme parks, high-end hotels, and ecological landscapes, with the casino being a discreet part of the whole ecosystem.
Last year, 16.9 million visitors, with international guests making up 80%
CEO of Sentosa Development Corporation, Chen Huiling, called the GSMP "the biggest transformation project in our history," stating that while preserving the island's soul and characteristics, it aims to shape the next generation of world-class experiences. From the data, the foundation is already quite solid—between April 2024 and March 2025, Sentosa received about 16.9 million visitors, with international tourists accounting for about 80%. The plan clearly aims to increase the participation rate of local visitors as a long-term goal, gradually increasing the proportion of local visitors to about 30%. In other words, Sentosa has primarily earned money from foreigners over the past year, and now aims to include Singaporeans' weekends as well.
RWS 2.0: Super Nintendo World leads the way, completion by 2030
Genting Singapore's RWS 2.0 expansion project is the fastest to be implemented in the entire blueprint. According to the plan, the expansion will add two luxury hotels with a total of 700 rooms, an immersive theme area of Super Nintendo World within Universal Studios Singapore, and a waterfront lifestyle complex, all expected to be completed by 2030. RWS CEO Lee Ci En responded with an open attitude: "The formation of Greater Sentosa brings more visitors and richer tourism products to Singapore as a whole, and we see opportunities for closer cooperation with the Singapore Tourism Board and park partners to create a seamless experience, consolidating Singapore's position as a leading leisure and tourism destination."
From an investment perspective, Genting's SGD 6.8 billion injection essentially reaffirms the long-term viability of Singapore's integrated resort model. Beyond Macau and Las Vegas, Sentosa has carved out another path—casinos never stand in the spotlight, but the larger the resort's visitor base, the stronger the income elasticity of its supporting facilities.
Aerial walkways, canopy attractions, and beach reshaping: The puzzle is still being assembled
Beyond RWS, the GSMP also disclosed several infrastructure-level new construction plans. The Imbiah Canopy Attraction will be located at the top of Mount Imbiah, combining attractions, dining, retail, and shaded activity spaces in one, connected to Siloso Beach via an aerial walkway. The Imbiah Viewing Walkway is a 350-meter elevated canopy walkway that links sensory trails with viewing platforms, guiding visitors to explore the island's natural and cultural heritage paths.
The coastal and beach areas—including Siloso, Palawan, and Tanjong Beach—will be redeveloped into lifestyle experience zones covering day and night scenes, including beach clubs and island-hopping options. The planned Sensorium is positioned as an indoor lifestyle landmark, integrating green spaces to enhance thermal comfort and visitor experience. SDC emphasized that sustainability, climate resilience, and ecological design will permeate the long-term development process, with the first batch of projects expected to start in the early 2030s.
In terms of transportation, the new Island Heart Transportation Hub will become the main entrance connecting Sentosa and Brani, with the People Mover System replacing the existing Sentosa Express to provide greater capacity and smoother connectivity. Additional coastal pathways and water taxi services are also under evaluation.
PASA's official website believes that the essence of the GSMP is an experiment in upgrading Sentosa "from a day trip to a multi-day stay"—more hotel rooms, richer nighttime consumption scenes, and more convenient inter-island transportation are all aimed at encouraging visitors to stay overnight. For the gambling industry, the experimental value lies in how much a casino, as one of the supporting units in an integrated resort, can be naturally supported by the growth in visitor flow. Sentosa's answer will be revealed when the first batch of projects is completed in 2030.
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