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Gardens by the Bay received 6.4m visitors last year

SINGAPORE — Visitorship to the Gardens by the Bay has blossomed since it opened its doors in 2012, surpassing that of renowned traditional gardens.

Visitors walking past a lit up Spalliera at Gardens by the Bay's Christmas Wonderland yuletide fair. The decorative structure which is fabricated in Italy measures 21m in diameter is the largest piece in a series of luminary attractions. Photo: Don Wong

Visitors walking past a lit up Spalliera at Gardens by the Bay's Christmas Wonderland yuletide fair. The decorative structure which is fabricated in Italy measures 21m in diameter is the largest piece in a series of luminary attractions. Photo: Don Wong

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SINGAPORE — Visitorship to the Gardens by the Bay has blossomed since it opened its doors in 2012, surpassing that of renowned traditional gardens.

Last year, it received about 6.4 million visitors, and this number is expected to jump to 8 million this year, compared with the New York Botanic Gardens and Kew Gardens in London, where the numbers hover around 1 million to 2 million visitors.

This puts the attraction in the league of international theme attractions such as Hong Kong Disneyland and Universal Studios Hollywood.

On Nov 7, the park welcomed its 20 millionth visitor, Miss Gowri Subramanian, who was there for her pre-wedding photo shoot, and she was invited to launch the new Christmas Toyland floral display today (Nov 22) in the Flower Dome.

Together with National Development Minister Lawrence Wong, she dropped two balls into a labyrinth, which lit up an 11m-tall Christmas Pyramid.

And as it came to life, two ballerinas started to dance, symbolising the performances that will be held for the first time in the gardens’ flower field this festive season.

Gardens by the Bay chief operating officer Felix Loh also gave an update on the safety features of its Auto Riders — driverless shuttles aimed at making it easier for visitors to move around the sprawling grounds from as early as next month.

While the vehicle can travel up to 40km per hour, it will be set to 8km per hour, equivalent to brisk-walking speed. Multiple brakes will also be installed.

“Even though it is driverless, for a start we will have somebody on board acting as a tour guide and he can also be a safety officer,” said Mr Loh.

There are three emergency buttons. At any point when they think a situation may happen they can press the emergency button and the vehicle will come to a complete stop.” CHANNEL NEWSASIA

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