SINGAPORE — The Republic has been declared as the No 1 tourist destination next year by prominent travel media company Lonely Planet, thanks to the country’s fresh crop of swanky hotels, the Marina Bay area, new attractions such as the Sports Hub and the National Gallery Singapore, and a fine dining scene that is “finally giving Bangkok, Hong Kong and Tokyo a run for their money”.

That Singapore will be celebrating its 50th birthday next year also helped the nation clinch the top spot — ahead of countries such as Namibia, Lithuania and Nicaragua — in Lonely Planet’s Best In Travel 2015 guide, which was published yesterday.

The ringing endorsement by the world’s largest travel guide book publisher is a welcome boost for the Republic’s tourism industry, which was hit by falling visitor arrivals and spending in the second quarter because of external events such as political unrest in Thailand, the disappearance of Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 and the abduction of Chinese tourists in Sabah.

The Singapore Tourism Board’s (STB) latest tourism sector performance quarterly report, which was released last week, showed that visitor arrivals numbered 3.6 million from April to June, a drop of 6 per cent from the previous year and the steepest year-on-year decrease in five years.

Tourism receipts fell by 3 per cent to S$5.6 billion.

STB’s assistant chief executive, Ms Lynette Pang, said: “This accolade bears testament to the wide variety of high-quality experiences that Singapore offers and will serve as motivation for us to continue delivering innovative concepts that can further elevate the Singapore experience.”

She added that STB was “honoured by the recognition of Singapore’s efforts, not just in tourism, but also in heritage conservation, greenery, dining, the arts and many other areas”.

Mr Chris Zeiher, Lonely Planet’s Asia-Pacific sales and marketing director, said there were three main criteria used by the panel of judges, which included Lonely Planet founder Tony Wheeler.

“First, we reached out to our community of travellers (for suggestions) and each country is scored on topicality, unique experiences and the ‘wow’ factor,” he said.

“I can’t reveal the methodology. There is a checklist involved and the ranking (among the three factors) is secret, but you can rest assured that these panellists know what they’re doing when they’re scoring the countries,” he added.

When it came to topicality, the deal-clincher was the fact that Singapore would be celebrating its 50th birthday next year. As for unique experiences and the “wow” factor, Mr Zeiher said there was more to do in Singapore than ever before.

He noted that the travel guide also cited the island’s “life-changing” food, “emerging” local fashion scene and new attractions as key factors that helped swing the vote in the Republic’s favour.

While industry efforts are under way to promote Singapore as a destination, instead of a mere stopover, Mr Zeiher said: “City breaks are a big travel trend ... People recognise the opportunities to have shorter stays and cram a lot of stuff to do (into their trip) when they’re in a city. Singapore is the perfect place for this.”

The Republic is one of two Asian countries in Lonely Planet’s Top 10 list, with the Philippines taking the eighth spot.

The travel guide stated: “Its grand heritage buildings, chaotic hawker centres, luxurious green spaces, glitzy shopping malls and a slew of new developments have elevated the ‘Singapore experience’ to new levels.”

Last year, Brazil took the top spot in Lonely Planet’s 2014 list — in part because it hosted the FIFA World Cup that took place in June and July.

Sri Lanka came in first in the list for 2013, with the guide recommending the country for its “culture, off the beaten track and value for money”.