SINGAPORE : There has been a 10 per cent increase in the number of visitors to Singapore’s resort island of Sentosa since the country’s first integrated resort opened on Wednesday.

For now, traffic into the island is smooth but the island’s management said it expects visitor numbers to triple when Resorts World Sentosa is fully operational.

Traffic flow was manageable when MediaCorp was at Sentosa on Saturday afternoon.

Cars were cleared in about 10 seconds with the flat fee pricing, instead of the 20 to 30 seconds it took to process each car when fees were based on the number of passengers in each vehicle.

Currently, Sentosa receives about 24,000 visitors on a regular weekend.

It expects the numbers to go up to 40,000 to 60,000 when Resorts World Sentosa is fully operational.

David Goh, director, Operations & Retail, Sentosa Leisure Group, said: "We actually over—prepared to ensure that there is enough staff to handle things in case there is a surge. As and when the crowd is manageable, we (will) step down our manpower.

"We usually have about 10...admission hosts, who manage the cars coming in; we added 50 per cent of the manpower this morning, just in case there is a surge. Likewise at Express Station, we also increased our manpower there.

"The planning started months or even more than a year ago. (We worked)...with LTA to manage the road improvement works and also coordinated with Maple Tree where our Express Station is located within VivoCity.

"So there has been a lot of coordination work being put in place way back and more recently, we have worked with Police as well to work on crowd management plans, traffic management plans. So we are ready for the increase."

Within Resorts World itself, there were day trippers aplenty.

One visitor said: "We are here to explore the Resorts World in Sentosa and also to check out the other attractions."

The Victoria’s Secret boutique, the first in Asia, attracted its fair share of crowds.

A visitor said: "We want to see how big is the shop itself. Actually it is a bit small, there is no fitting room but it is okay."

Another commented: "The casino is not yet open but the place, the branded products like Victoria’s Secret, we love it!"

The resort’s hotels were also busy.

Robin Goh, assistant director, Communications, Resorts World Sentosa, said: "Festive and Hard Rock hotels are both fully booked this weekend. We are looking at a 90 per cent occupancy rate.

"We saw a surge in bookings towards the end of the week, and I can say that occupancy will average about 80 to 90 per cent for the following four weeks as well."

However, there are still some kinks to be ironed out. Mr Goh said: "With a resort this size, we are experiencing what we call opening pains. We have received complaints about the car park being too huge, not enough signage, something we are working on. I think some people get a little lost with regards to where the four hotels are. In time, these things will be worked out".

And of course apart from the theme park, many are also waiting for the casino to open.

One person said: "So far the casino here hasn’t opened yet, actually I want to go down and take a look."

At the casino’s main entrance — much like the immigration lanes at the airport — visitors will be segregated according to whether they are Singaporeans and PRs or overseas guests.

And locals will have to pay the S$100 levy to enter the casino hall, located just a few metres from the casino check—in lanes.

Resorts World Sentosa has said that it expects up to 13 million visitors annually when it is fully operational. That is about 35,600 visitors daily. — CNA/ms