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NTU imposes fee on tourists amid influx to university campuses which students say is disrupting classes, crowding canteens Bookmark Bookmark Share WhatsApp Telegram Facebook Twitter Email LinkedIn Close Close Top Stories Singapore Asia World Commentary Sustainability Business Sport Latest News Discover CNA Insider Watch Live TV News Reports Documentaries & Shows TV Schedule Listen CNA938 Live Podcasts Radio Schedule Special Reports Singapore Parliament Mental Health Interactives Lifestyle Entertainment Women Wellness Living Style & Beauty Dining Travel Luxury Experiences Obsessions People Remarkable Living CNA Eyewitness Send us a news tip Events & Partnerships Branded Content Business Blueprint Health Matters The Asian Traveller Weather Edition: Singapore Asia Search Trending Topics CNA Explains China Malaysia Israel-Hamas war Snap Insight Ukraine invasion Wellness Billion-dollar money laundering case Follow CNA Follow our news Facebook Twitter Youtube LinkedIn RSS
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NTU imposes fee on tourists amid influx to university campuses which students say is disrupting classes, crowding canteens
A tourist takes pictures at The Hive at Nanyang Technological University on Jan 31, 2024.(Photo: TODAY/Lim Li Ting)
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In recent weeks, students from Nanyang Technological University (NTU) and the National University of Singapore (NUS) have aired frustrations online over disruptions caused by visiting foreign tourists These include long queues at canteens, loud noises in common study spaces and tourists competing with students for space on campus shuttle buses NTU has just imposed a fee on tourists to try to manage numbers Tourists TODAY spoke to said that they wanted their young children to observe what campus life was like at these universities NTU said on Feb 1 that it would require all travel agencies planning tours to the campus to seek prior approval as well as to pay a fee, while NUS said it is monitoring the situation Renald Loh Renald Loh 05 Feb 2024 07:45PM (Updated: 05 Feb 2024 08:33PM) Bookmark Bookmark Share WhatsApp Telegram Facebook Twitter Email LinkedIn SINGAPORE: Two top universities in Singapore are paying the price of success as foreign tourists flock to see their campuses, causing disruptions to students.One of them, Nanyang Technological University (NTU), has just imposed a fee to manage the influx of curious sightseers.
In recent weeks, students from both NTU and the National University of Singapore (NUS) have used online forum Reddit to air their grievances over inconveniences they feel tourists have caused.
Chief among them are long, winding queues at canteens during lunch hours, loud, distracting voices echoing throughout common study spaces and road jams caused by tour buses picking up, dropping off and waiting for tourists.
NTU students told TODAY they have also faced distractions such as phone cameras flashing and tourists peeping over their shoulders for at least three years during classes at The Hive.
The building is a popular photo opportunity for tourists as its facade bears a resemblance to dim sum baskets.
Some tourists have even entered classrooms while lessons were still underway.
“Last week, one group just walked in, sat down and listened to the lecture (for the last 20 minutes),” recalled Ms Cathryn Wong, 27, who studies English literature at NTU.
NTU announced last Thursday (Feb 1) that it would henceforth require all travel agencies planning tours to their campus to seek prior approval from the university.
Tourist groups will be required to pre-register online and schedule visits in advance.An entry fee, which the university said is to support campus maintenance and the regulation of vehicle flow, would also be charged.
NTU has yet to respond to TODAY’s query on how much the fee will be and how it will work.
According to both tour operators and some of the tourists themselves, the appeal to visit the NUS and NTU campuses stems from the fact that both have consistently ranked among the top universities in Asia .
When TODAY visited both schools last Wednesday, three separate groups of tourists from China said that they wanted their children – ranging in age from seven to 16 – to observe what campus life was like at these universities.
In 2023, NUS ranked third and NTU placed fifth overall in Asia according to Times Higher Education, a British magazine that publishes global university rankings annually.
Globally, the universities ranked 19th and 36th respectively.
Tourists board a tour bus outside The Hive at Nanyang Technological University on Jan 31, 2024.(Photo: TODAY/Lim Li Ting) LONG LINES FOR FOOD AND BUSES When TODAY arrived at NUS at around noon last Wednesday, the Flavours @ UTown canteen was packed, with long queues at every stall.
Several groups of tourists, each comprising about a dozen school-aged children and their caregivers, were seen seeking tables alongside NUS students.The food court is often packed till 2.30pm, students said.
“If I only have 30 minutes to eat before my next lesson, I don’t want to queue an hour for my food,” said a 21-year-old first-year student who wanted to be known only as Daniel.
Ms Sophia Chen, 23, a third-year NUS law student, said she first noticed long lines in late 2023, but noted that the numbers of tourists “seem to be increasing, especially in the last few weeks”.
“As students, we rely on the short pockets of time we have in between our classes to have our meals and commute to our next class,” Ms Chen said.
“With the ever-increasing number of tourists, there are now barely seats in our dining areas and our internal shuttle buses.”
Numerous NUS students backed up Ms Chen’s observations, telling TODAY that failing to get on these full buses had previously caused them to be late for their classes.
Students added that large tour buses occasionally stop and wait at UTown’s main bus stop, which can cause jams as there is only one lane for NUS shuttle buses to use.
In response to TODAY’s queries, an NUS spokesperson said that the university is “aware of the seasonal flow of visitors including tourists” and is “monitoring the situation closely”.
Over at NTU, similar issues like long queues at food establishments and jams on the roads were also raised, in addition to in-class disruptions.
Nonetheless, some students feel that they do not mind tourists visiting their campus “as long as they are respectful”.
Tourists take photos at University Town at the National University of Singapore on Jan 31, 2024.(Photo: TODAY/Lim Li Tang) A GLIMPSE OF UNIVERSITY LIFE IN SINGAPORE A spokesperson for Transinex, a local travel planning firm that offers tours around Singapore, told TODAY that she has observed people across Southeast Asia expressing interest in visiting NUS and NTU due to their international standing.
According to Mr Fred Chua, a freelance tour guide and travel planner in Singapore, tourists often ask to see the hostels where students live, the canteens where students eat and various hangout spots around the UTown area.
Mr Chua had brought a group of tourists from China around the NUS campus last Wednesday.
He told TODAY that the demand to visit local universities, in particular NUS and NTU, usually comes from parents who want their children to experience a glimpse of how students live on campus.
One Chinese parent TODAY spoke to at NTU, who was not part of a tour group, said that he had brought his two children to the university as it had a good reputation, and that he hoped they would enrol there.
When this reporter asked if he thought his children – one of whom was only seven years old – might be too young for such a trip, he responded in Mandarin that “they are not”.
In response to TODAY’s queries, NTU said that the university’s campus attracts many visitors as it is “frequently recognised as one of the world’s most beautiful with its unique architecture and lush green spaces”.
“However, the primary purpose of the NTU campus is to provide a conducive learning environment for our students, and the needs of our students must come first,” the university said.
This article was originally published in TODAY .
Also read: The Big Read: No more an inferior option, polytechnics have come a long way.
What’s needed to take them up another level? Source: TODAY/rl(kg) Related Topics National University of Singapore Nanyang Technological University Advertisement Also worth reading Content is loading…Advertisement.
