Sentosa beachgoers no longer required to make reservations for visits

SINGAPORE: Beachgoers headed to Sentosa will no longer be required to make a reservation for their visits on weekends and public holidays with "immediate effect", in line with the simplified COVID-19 safe management measures. 

Visitors will be able to visit Tanjong, Palawan and Siloso beaches without bookings, said Sentosa Development Corporation (SDC) in a media release on Monday (Mar 14). 

Previously, visitors headed to Sentosa's beaches on peak periods such as weekends and public holidays were required to book a slot online. 

Bookings for the use of beach courts on weekends and public holidays are also no longer required.

Anyone can walk in to see the Magical Shores at Siloso, a free multi-sensory beach attraction, which will be opened on Fridays, weekends, eves of public holidays, and public holidays. This will be subject to the capacity limits of the attraction, said SDC. 

"For the safety and experience of everyone in Sentosa, all guests are reminded to continue observing prevailing safe management measures," said SDC. These include mask-wearing, limit on social gathering group sizes, as well as safe management measures for sports activities. 

Safety rings, which will indicate spots where groups of up to five people may gather, will also continue to be in place at Sentosa's beaches. 

Beachgoers may also be directed to another area if neccessary, so as to avoid overcrowding at any area of the beaches. For safety reasons, guests will also not be allowed to swim at Sentosa's beaches after 7pm. 

"SDC’s safe distancing ambassadors and enforcement officers will continue to conduct regular patrols and take enforcement action should breaches be observed," it said. 

“With Singapore’s progressive reopening, it is timely for us to review the entry measures at Sentosa’s beaches.

"We are pleased to observe that the large majority of our guests have been socially responsible, and we are therefore removing the requirement to book beach visits during peak periods," said Ms Thien Kwee Eng, chief executive officer of SDC. 

With Sentosa marking its 50th anniversary this year, Ms Thien added that SDC is looking forward to welcoming more Singaporeans and guests to the beaches and various upcoming Golden Jubilee commemorative experiences. 

Last week, co-chair of the COVID-19 multi-ministry task force Gan Kim Yong announced that Singapore will implement streamlined safe management measures on Mar 15 as the Omicron wave has peaked. 

The measures, covering areas such as safe distancing, the number of household visitors allowed and event capacity limits, were announced last month, but they had to be postponed due to a spike in COVID-19 cases.