Aha, so you are thinking of the competitions that Singapore may face after the IRs.

Firstly, tourists visit our country because we are currently better then them in certain aspects. For now the aspects will be in terms of accessibility and order. Singapore is the most accessible in the region and it is a place for transit.. and also we have the best order.. why? you can see it from our zero-riot records.. the fact that we keep opposition thoughts in our minds and we dont usually express it out, partly due to the semi-authoritarian govt.. who would want to visit a country with unrest.. where one's safety will be undermined.. and who would want to visit a country with frequent crimes.. and when there are rogue taxi drivers??

Secondly, singapore's tourism policy is attracting more of those high-end tourists.. when 'high-class' infrastructure are bulit..
Additionally, just compare the airport taxes with a country like Malaysia and you will see the difference..

Referring to the phrase 'wouldn live up to its earlier glories' .. I think it may be possible..but i am sure the govt is aware of the impact by allowing 'them' to 'take care' of the ir for some years.. as you kno the govt will not do anything that compromises their interests.. hence i think its possible that there are some reasons behind it..
A generic reason will be that they would want to see how 'they' manage the resort and the govt may learn something from them; after all its our 1st time.. and then plan how to manage the resorts ourselves .. Another generic reason may be that the govt may want to see the extent of success of the IRs.. or wait for it to be 'stable' first..

 out of  found this valuable. Do you find this valuable?