Hey Emmi!
I’m so excited for you to come to Singapore! There are dozens of fun and interesting places that you can visit here. Bummer though, that you only have enough time to visit one attraction. After considering the list of recommended attractions from TripAdvisor that you’ve shown me, I highly recommend you to visit the Asian Civilisations Museum (ACM). Let me tell you more about ACM. I’ve been there twice and I’m pretty sure you’ll enjoy your time there!
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| Asian Civilisations Museum |
(a) The ACM is the first museum in the region that showcases a diverse yet integrated perspective of pan-Asian civilisations and cultures. The museum focuses on the history of Southeast Asia, West Asia, South Asia and China. You’ll practically get to travel through 5000 years of Asian cultures!
The ACM draws various types of visitors and one of the more prominent group of people that I noticed there were staying visitors (tourists) led by a tour guide. They were mostly adults of both genders between the ages 35 to 50. This group of people can be categorized into the establishment stage of the family life cycle as they are most likely in mid-establishment and parents of kids. The children I saw there aren’t young. They look rather mature and I guess around the age 10 and 12.
As you know, Singapore is a very prosperous, multi-cultural country which makes people interested and curious of our history. Staying visitors on guided tours are very often brought to destinations where they can learn more about Singapore’s past which involves people from many parts of Asia getting together. Adults with children of the age I mentioned like to bring them to museums where they can discover, learn and spend quality time together.
What better place to visit than the ACM? Tourists with children usually go abroad during the holidays when there’s a school break and parents take leave from work.
As you know, Singapore is a very prosperous, multi-cultural country which makes people interested and curious of our history. Staying visitors on guided tours are very often brought to destinations where they can learn more about Singapore’s past which involves people from many parts of Asia getting together. Adults with children of the age I mentioned like to bring them to museums where they can discover, learn and spend quality time together.
What better place to visit than the ACM? Tourists with children usually go abroad during the holidays when there’s a school break and parents take leave from work.
Another common group of visitors that I saw at the ACM are what looked like students who’re going through their tertiary education. I noticed that these people seemed really interested by the artifacts and displays in the museum. All of them were attentively reading the informative notices and using the interactive displays that the ACM offers.
Most students who visit the museum are likely to be history buffs, wanting to learn more about Asia’s history. They are categorized into the preparation stage of the family life cycle simply because they’re students like you and I, trying to complete our education. Many students visit the ACM with the obvious main purpose of education and even for projects. They can be local or even students from abroad who come for an exchange program.
Most students who visit the museum are likely to be history buffs, wanting to learn more about Asia’s history. They are categorized into the preparation stage of the family life cycle simply because they’re students like you and I, trying to complete our education. Many students visit the ACM with the obvious main purpose of education and even for projects. They can be local or even students from abroad who come for an exchange program.
This is one reason why I’m recommending you to visit the ACM! I’m positively sure you’ll be fascinated by the exhibitions as well and acquire a lot of knowledge by the end of your visit. Not only of Singapore, but many parts of Asia!
(b) There are numerous reasons to why I’m recommending you to visit the ACM. The first motivating factor being education which I have already mentioned! You definitely will gain a wider knowledge on Asia’s history in this museum containing an overwhelming amount of information. The ACM has some of the best historical artifacts in Southeast Asia. What’s better? The entrance fee for non-residential students is only $4!! This is really cheap especially when compared to some of the other attractions on the list. Another of the many reasons for my recommendation is the location of the ACM. It’s only a 5 minutes’ walk from Raffles Place MRT station and located by the historic Singapore River! So you’ll not only get to see and explore one of the top attractions in Singapore, you’ll be seeing Singapore’s famous river too. Convenient isn’t it?
Core products of the ACM include education, nostalgic experience and a peaceful atmosphere. There are several educational programs/exhibitions that are constantly ongoing in the museum and these programs change every few months. One example will be ‘Exploring the cosmos: The Stupa as a Buddhist Symbol’. This exhibition features 29 works from the ACM’s collection and covers a period from the 3rd to the 19th century. You’ll understand more about the different cultural influences on Singapore and how Singapore has gradually flourished into the prosperous country it is now. The ACM also offers you a nostalgic experience. Seeing all the historical artifacts and displays together with the information about them, it will seem as if you were time travelling to the past and experiencing everything yourself!
The museum has a really peaceful ambience and is quite dim. This not only adds on to the nostalgia, it makes the visitors feel very much at peace. I noticed that all the visitors at the ACM were strolling and no one was talking with a loud voice. Well, except for the tour guides.
Interactive display screens, wide range of historical artifacts and friendly guides are 3 tangible products offered by the ACM. The interactive display screens are really interesting! It’s a very engaging, technologically advanced catering facility that works kind of like a two way communication system and allows the visitors to attain information in a more interactive and fun way. Cool huh? The historical artifacts on display in the museum come from all over Asia and many were donated by wealthy people. Each and every artifact is unique and stunning. These stunning displays allow visitors to see some parts of the past for themselves and this is one of the intangible benefits that I think you’ll enjoy. The displays tend to evoke emotions in visitors, especially awe. You’ll probably feel as amazed as I was, wondering how such valuable objects could have been conserved so beautifully. The ACM provides free guided tours and from what I’ve noticed during my visits to the museum, the guide was very friendly and helpful. There’re several comments from TripAdvisor mentioning about the friendly guides and how helpful they were too! You can easily ask him or her anything that you’re curious or unsure about regarding the things in the museum. How convenient is that!
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| Interactive screen with audio |
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| Interactive display screen |
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| You can sit while listening to the audio |
Some augmented products offered by the ACM are FnB outlets, the Museum Shop, baby care facilities, seats, lifts and lockers. There is the Indochine Waterfront Restaurant and Siem Reap ll Café at the museum. Hungry visitors can dine there without even having to walk to another destination to find a place to eat. I haven’t eaten at these outlets before but I heard their food are oh so delicious! The Museum Shop is a retail arm of Banyan Tree Hotel & Resorts that offers an extensive selection of Asian-style furnishings, Banyan Tree Spa collection, eco-friendly products, indigenous village handicrafts, ethnic apparel and accessories. I think this will be one tangible benefit you’ll enjoy. You’ll get to bring home useful and pretty souvenirs for yourself and your family. Don’t forget to check this shop out before you leave! Lifts are an additional facility that make life a lot easier. They are extremely helpful especially for people on wheelchairs. The ACM even provides visitors with lockers! Plus, you can relax and sit on the comfortable seats they provide if you’re feeling slightly tired after walking around the museum.
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| Indochine Waterfront Restaurant |
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| Museum Shop |
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| The seats look really comfortable don't they! |
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| Lockers |
(c) As you know, the first unique nature of ACM as a service product is that the staff involved in producing and delivering the product are part of the product itself. Their attitude and behaviour are important contributors to the experience of the visitors at the museum. They affect how the product is perceived by customers and because of this; visitors may not enjoy their time at the museum if the staff do not serve them well. For example, an employee may have been rude to a visitor at the customer service and this will affect the rest of the visitor’s experience at the museum negatively. Therefore, the ACM has to ensure that all of the employees at the museum are well trained. Otherwise, they may start to notice a decrease in the number of visitors to the attraction.
The second nature of the ACM as a service product tells us that the product is different for every customer and they will shape the product in their own image to a certain extent or degree. Each visitor of the museum will have a different level of being satisfied easily. Take example a fussy man who’s hard to please. He may find that the museum doesn’t provide sufficient information about the displays and not be satisfied with his time spent there even though the other visitors at the museum feel that they do. The extent of enjoying activities that include participation and being entertained will vary with every visitor. Therefore the ACM will have to find ways to allow different visitors to interact in different manners. In the ACM, visitors will also experience the collection in different ways. Such are like walking around the museum following a different route and experiencing a subset of possible experiences. This shows how customers themselves are involved in the production process. The ACM will face the problem of not being able to totally control how they want their visitors to experience their time there.
The third nature of the ACM as a service product is that it isn’t standardized. Not only do the exhibitions and artifacts in the museum change all the time, staff performance may not be consistent. Variability in staff performance will lead to variability in the quality of experience at the ACM. This will lead to the ACM facing difficulty in quality assurance. For example; not all of the staff may perform and serve visitors at the standard that they are expected to and this will cause only some visitors to have a positive experience at the ACM while others to be left with a bad impression.
The fourth unique nature of the ACM as a service product is that the product is perishable and cannot be stored. For example, if the museum is quiet on weekday morning, it cannot be filled with members of the public who’re queuing to get in on a weekend afternoon. Once the day is over, the service product cannot be offered to that day anymore. Basically, they cannot be saved for later use! This means that the day will be wasted if the number of visitors is very little on that particular day. Thus, the ACM has to plan ways to maximize the number of people visiting the attraction each day.
The fifth nature of the ACM as a service product is that there is no tangible product to carry home. Visitors will not get to bring home anything tangible to remember the museum by. This is excluding the Museum Shop of course! It’s one of the museum’s worries, to have visitors not remember about the attraction after a few years. People who plan to visit the ACM will not be able to sample the service before use. They may have a rough idea of what to expect when they enter the museum, but will not be fully aware of the experience they will get, prior to the visit. Also, visitors are not able to make an exchange or a refund if they find their experience there unsatisfactory.
And finally! The last nature of the museum as a service product. The surroundings of the service delivery process are a feature of the service. The environment in which the service is delivered has to be functional and attractive to the visitor. The ACM has to be aesthetically pleasing and also have a serene atmosphere in order for the visitors to have a better time there. Just imagine if there were crying kids in the museum. Most people like museums such as the ACM to be quiet so that they can have a better experience and feel nostalgic. The cries would be so disruptive and I definitely would get irritated by them! Won’t you?
(d) Now, let me share with you why I think the ACM has been highly ranked on TripAdvisor. Being the first museum in the region to showcase the history of numerous parts of Asia obviously isn’t the only reason for its high ranking. The attraction has many facilities and programs that make the place even more fun and interesting.
They cater to the needs of both students and staying tourists, who are their target market. The guides who volunteer at the ACM are able to answer any questions about the exhibitions from people and many of them find this service extremely helpful. They won’t have to walk around the museum with wondering questions that cannot be answered with the information provided on the boards. There are guides who speak in different languages such as French, Korean and Japanese! This definitely caters to the needs of tourists who may not be able to understand English.
They cater to the needs of both students and staying tourists, who are their target market. The guides who volunteer at the ACM are able to answer any questions about the exhibitions from people and many of them find this service extremely helpful. They won’t have to walk around the museum with wondering questions that cannot be answered with the information provided on the boards. There are guides who speak in different languages such as French, Korean and Japanese! This definitely caters to the needs of tourists who may not be able to understand English.
The ACM sometimes organizes programs that are especially for families with children such as the ‘Family Fun Saturday – Heroic Tales from Thailand’ and ‘The Young Collector – Children’s Season at ACM’. These programs and events allow families to spend quality time and have fun together. This is one unique aspect of the ACM that makes the attraction better than the competition. Many families enjoy visiting this museum because of all these events that are organized for them which cannot be found at other attractions. They aren’t only fun, families can learn and gain knowledge together too!
Another 2 unique facilities that other attractions may not offer are the installations that provide information in different languages and even dialects; as well as the virtual hosts that greet visitors at each of the themed exhibits. The museum doesn’t only have reading boards as a way for people to get information on the exhibits. They also provide interactive screens that let people sit and attain information through audio headphones. These are in different languages too! The virtual hosts located at the entrance of each exhibit are really interesting. If visitors miss the time slot to follow the free tours, these virtual hosts will similarly act as a guide for them and provide a detailed background of the exhibit that the visitor’s about to enter! Quite fascinating I know.
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| Audio in English and Teochew, a dialect |
The ACM is very successful in promoting itself as an attraction. One way it does this is through its official webpage, http://www.acm.org.sg/home/home.asp where people interested in visiting can find much information about the museum such as the opening hours and the various programs that are coming up. The ACM is often included in tour packages for tourists and they also have a Facebook page. It knows that majority of the people in the world these days are very active on the social media platform. Therefore it started a Facebook page to advertise itself!
(e) The ACM has many impacts on Singapore, the citizens and the residents.
Economic Impacts
The ACM is an attraction that doesn’t focus on earning a profit. Even though it doesn’t help to boost the country much, economically; it still does to some extent. One reason why some tourists visit Singapore is to see the ACM and this has a multiplier effect within the local economy. An increase in the number of tourists leads to an increase in revenue for hotels and the tourism industry. This means that there will be an overall increase in tourism revenue.
The ACM creates job opportunities for citizens and some examples of jobs created are security guards, receptionists and guides for the museum.
The attraction impacts the residents positively in an economical way by helping shops nearby earn money. There are many restaurants and shops near the ACM and there is a higher chance for them to make more sales as there usually are more people around an attraction place.
The ACM is an attraction that doesn’t focus on earning a profit. Even though it doesn’t help to boost the country much, economically; it still does to some extent. One reason why some tourists visit Singapore is to see the ACM and this has a multiplier effect within the local economy. An increase in the number of tourists leads to an increase in revenue for hotels and the tourism industry. This means that there will be an overall increase in tourism revenue.
The ACM creates job opportunities for citizens and some examples of jobs created are security guards, receptionists and guides for the museum.
The attraction impacts the residents positively in an economical way by helping shops nearby earn money. There are many restaurants and shops near the ACM and there is a higher chance for them to make more sales as there usually are more people around an attraction place.
Environmental Impacts
When the museum was first built and the construction was ongoing, there definitely would have been some destruction of the natural environment. At some point, the construction could have contributed to air pollution and all these are negative environmental impacts to Singapore.
When the museum was first built and the construction was ongoing, there definitely would have been some destruction of the natural environment. At some point, the construction could have contributed to air pollution and all these are negative environmental impacts to Singapore.
Socio-cultural Impacts
The ACM has led many Singaporeans to be very proud of their history and ancestral roots. It benefits both locals and tourists as it helps both groups of visitors to appreciate and understand how far Singapore has come and is now well known for being a multi-racial country.
Overall, the ACM plays a big part in promoting a better appreciation of the rich cultures that make up Singapore's multi-ethnic society. Because of how well the ACM tries to do things, most tourists leave Singapore with a very good impression and love the country!
Here are some photos I took during my visit to show you what you can expect to see there.
After explaining so much on the ACM, I hope I’ve answered your questions! I’m positive you’ll enjoy your time there. Can’t wait for you to arrive in Singapore and be sure to take tons of photos!!
The ACM has led many Singaporeans to be very proud of their history and ancestral roots. It benefits both locals and tourists as it helps both groups of visitors to appreciate and understand how far Singapore has come and is now well known for being a multi-racial country.
Overall, the ACM plays a big part in promoting a better appreciation of the rich cultures that make up Singapore's multi-ethnic society. Because of how well the ACM tries to do things, most tourists leave Singapore with a very good impression and love the country!
Here are some photos I took during my visit to show you what you can expect to see there.
After explaining so much on the ACM, I hope I’ve answered your questions! I’m positive you’ll enjoy your time there. Can’t wait for you to arrive in Singapore and be sure to take tons of photos!!
