Singapore visitor arrivals jump 8.4%, most in three years

Visitor arrivals gained 8.4 percent to 830,000 last month from a year earlier, the Singapore Tourism Board said in an e- mailed statement today. Arrivals from Malaysia rose 37 percent, while Indonesian visitors gained 20 percent. The board also said the 2009 “Reasons to enjoy Singapore” campaign helped spur an increase in visitors from Germany, China and Australia.

Singapore is betting on projects set to open in the coming two years, such as the International Cruise Terminal and the two integrated resorts, to spur tourism. In October, Singapore began work on a S$500 million (US$355 million) terminal to double cruise berthing capacity and boost visitors arriving by sea. The two integrated resorts, Marina Bay Sands and Resorts World Sentosa, are scheduled to open in 2010.

The Singapore Tourism Board said Oct. 12 that visitor arrivals were still forecast to reach 17 million annually by 2015, as the region overcomes an economic slowdown and health scares such as the H1N1 pandemic. The board said at the time that tourism receipts will rise to S$30 billion by 2015, a target first announced five years ago. The board plans to give fresh projections for 2020 by April.

Hotels reduced prices to attract business, according to the board's figures. The average hotel room occupancy rate was 84.3 percent in November, 3.8 percentage points more than a year earlier, while hotel room revenue fell 9.8 percent to S$148 million from a year earlier.

Visitor days increased for the first time this year on an annual basis, reaching an estimated 3.1 million days, the board said.

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