KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 28 — The influx of tourists at the National University of Singapore (NUS) has led to significant disruptions on campus, as students struggle with crowded facilities and longer wait times.

One student, sharing her frustration in a recent interview with HeyKaki, recounted how she had to abandon her lunch plans after a diner ahead of her ordered 30 plates of chicken rice, leaving the canteen without enough rice to serve other patrons, news portal AsiaOne said in a report published recently.

“I was in the queue, and the hawker said they had enough chicken but not enough rice,” she lamented, highlighting the strain the tourist surge has put on everyday campus life.

In a TikTok video posted by HeyKaki on August 23, several NUS students voiced concerns about the growing presence of tourists.

Complaints ranged from overcrowded campus shuttle buses to packed canteens, with some students noting that the high volume of visitors has become a daily inconvenience.

However, not all students felt negatively about the situation. Another respondent was unfazed, saying, “I’m just like, ‘Oh wow’. NUS is a normal thing to me, but people take it as a tourist spot.”

To cope with the congestion, some students have adjusted their schedules, leaving for classes 30 minutes earlier or eating lunch later in the afternoon to avoid peak periods.

In response to the growing concerns, NUS has announced measures to manage the high visitor traffic.

An internal email sent to students on August 14 detailed initiatives including a pop-up visitor centre staffed by 40 student ambassadors, an increase in shuttle bus frequency, and the deployment of staff at bus stops and canteens during peak times.

Further steps were outlined in a follow-up circular on August 21, which revealed that tour buses entering the campus will need to register for limited daily slots by January 2025.

Exceptions will be made for buses ferrying visitors on official tours led by NUS student ambassadors.

The university also mandated that all student-led tours be registered, with unlicensed tour guides facing potential disciplinary action.

These measures, aimed at mitigating the impact of tourist traffic on campus, are expected to be fully implemented in time for the next peak travel season starting in January, NUS said in the circular.