SINGAPORE: The Little Red Dot has yet again made it on a best-of travel list, this time for the best cities to explore when night falls.
On June 24, a Travel & Leisure piece highlighted a new travel trend called “noctourism,” or night-time travel, one of the biggest new trends in the industry. It is focused on attractive destinations around the world that can be explored at night, which allows travellers to escape the heat, avoid crowds of daytime tourists, and be able to experience unique activities after dark.
Just in the past three months, the demand for this type of tour has gone up by 29%, Travel & Leisure cited the United Kingdom-based travel agency and tour operator Travelbag as saying.
Travelbag then evaluated more than 100 well-known destinations, assessing them based on Instagram hashtag volume, light pollution levels, and the number of skyscrapers taller than 150 meters.
Singapore made it to the top 10, ranking seventh on the list.
Tokyo, Japan, took first place on the list, followed by New York City (USA) in second place, Melbourne and Sydney (Australia) in third and fourth places, and Hong Kong in fifth.
Toronto, Canada, followed in sixth place, then Chicago (UA), Seoul (South Korea), and Vancouver (Canada) in eighth, ninth, and tenth places, respectively.
Topnotcher Tokyo’s Instagram hashtag volume was 20,644, its light pollution score is 45.9, and it has 178 skyscrapers over 150 meters tall, while New York, the runner-up, has more than double the Instagram volume of 41,312. Its light pollution score is 69.1, and the Big Apple has 324 skyscrapers.
In comparison, Singapore has an Instagram hashtag volume of 17,289, its light pollution score is 50.2, and it has 100 skyscrapers.
Incidentally, Sydney is this year’s best city for stargazing, followed by Melbourne and Toronto in second and third places.
However, Travel & Leisure noted: “Though it may seem ironic in the context of noctourism, several of the highest-ranked cities also recorded relatively high levels of light pollution, suggesting that skyline appeal, skyscraper density, and social media popularity carried significant weight in the rankings.”
Singapore after dark
Though some may find Singapore to be less than exciting, the city has quite a few things to do at night, and they won’t all break your budget. Plus, with today’s heat, nighttime brings relief to Singapore, and many are likely to find nightly crawls more pleasant and doable.
You can, for instance, stroll the illuminated Marina Bay promenade to catch the 15-minute Spectra Light and Water Show, which is free, and you can even get some steps in.
On a related note, you might want to do this after an evening meal at one of Singapore’s most famous hawker centres, Lau Pa Sat, which, after 7 p.m., turns into ‘Satay Street’ and have some smoky meat or other barbecued treats to your heart’s content.
Visitors can also visit Night Safari Singapore, the first nocturnal wildlife park in the world, to see animals in their habitats at night, or take a bumboat tour down the Singapore River to see the city’s skyline. For cycling enthusiasts, there are also night bike tours to discover.
If shopping is more your jam, go ahead and visit Mustafa Centre on Syed Alwi Road, which is open 24 hours a day, seven days a week, except for gold and jewellery shops, which close at 10 pm. Going late at night means you beat the crowds. /TISG
Read also: Singapore climbs 52 spots to become 9th safest place for solo female travelers
