Singapore Visitor Arrivals in December 2002

Singapore visitor arrivals in December 2002 achieved a growth rate of 5.8%, to a total of 709,143 visitors.

The 12 largest visitor-generating markets were:

Indonesia posted a 7.6% increase in arrivals due to the longer holiday season, which included Lebaran holidays. Holiday traffic registered a double-digit growth of 11.4%.

Aggressive promotion of the Singapore Visitor Kit in Southeast Asia continued to boost visitor arrivals from Thailand (+8.0%), Malaysia (+3.6%) and the Philippines (+1.1%). In addition, the extended holiday period this month contributed to an increase (+12.2%) in holiday arrivals from Thailand.

Visitor arrivals from Japan grew 38.7% over a low base last year. Holiday and business-related traffic showed strong increases of 55.4% and 10.5% respectively.

China's continued high growth (+22.0%) could be attributed to the intensive promotions for group travel, which led to a significant increase in group-packaged tours (+25.5%). Holiday traffic rose by 29.2%.

Security concerns towards travel especially after the Bali attacks led to a 9.7% drop in holiday arrivals from Australia. Overall visitor arrivals from the market fell by 7.1%.

Visitor arrivals from India grew 13.0%, largely contributed by the increase in holiday traffic (+17.5%) and group-package tours (+66.9%).

USA visitor arrivals declined marginally by 2.0%, due by the drop in holiday traffic (-3.4%) and group-package tours (-44.9%).

Weak economic outlook continued to dampen visitor arrivals from Hong Kong (-9.9%). Holiday and business-related traffic fell 12.4% and 0.5% respectively.

Overall, holiday arrivals from the top 12 markets grew strongly by 11.7%. Growth was registered from Japan (+55.4%), China (+29.2%), India (+17.5%), Thailand (+12.2%), and Indonesia (+11.4%). On the other hand, holiday arrivals from Hong Kong and Australia declined by 12.4% and 9.7% respectively.

Business-related (Business-related segment includes Business, Business & Pleasure and MICE arrivals.) traffic registered a positive growth of 9.2% in arrivals, largely contributed by the strong performances from China (+22.6%), Indonesia (+19.4%), South Korea (+14.3%), India (+11.5%) and Japan (+10.5%). Decreases were recorded from UK (-3.2%) and Hong Kong (-0.5%).

Hotel Sector Performance in December 2002

Maximum room-nights: 946,368 (+1.0%); Available room-nights: 857,723 (-0.7%)

Gross lettings: 635,701 (+4.6%); Paid lettings: 623,385 (+4.6%)

Standard AOR: 74.1% (up 3.7 percentage points over December 2001)

Standard ARR: $121.2 (-1.5%)

Revpar: $89.8 (+3.7%)

Visitor Arrivals in January - December 2002

For 2002, visitor arrivals grew 0.6% to reach 7,566,237, the second highest record in the history of Singapore's tourism. China rose from the 5th to 3rd position, overtaking Malaysia and Australia while India rose from the 9th to 7th position, overtaking USA and South Korea.

The 12 largest visitor-generating markets were:

Indonesia posted a 2.1% growth in arrivals, supported by the strong increases in the last quarter (+5.3%). Holiday and business-related arrivals rose by 5.2% and 3.4% respectively. Group-packaged tours grew strongly by 36.5%.

The continuing weakening of the Japanese economy contributed to the 4.3% decline in visitor arrivals. First time visitors and group-packaged visitors dropped 5.7% and 6.5% respectively.

Aggressive promotions as well as a significant increase in air services between Singapore and China led to a strong growth in holiday (+42.0%) and group-packaged visitors (+39.4%) from China, contributing to the overall double-digit growth of 34.7% in arrivals.

The availability of cheaper domestic travel especially with the introduction of budget airline Air Asia and the weaker Ringgit (since April 2002) contributed to a 5.2% decline in visitor arrivals from Malaysia. Holiday and business-related traffic fell 11.5% and 7.4% respectively.

Cautious consumer sentiments due to security concerns over international travel resulted in a decline in holiday arrivals (-5.8%) from Australia. Overall arrivals from the market fell 2.2%.

The decline in visitor arrivals from long-haul markets like UK (-0.3%) and USA (-4.7%) could be attributed to the switch in preference towards more domestic and short-haul travel. Holiday traffic from UK registered a marginal growth of 0.8% while holiday arrivals from USA declined 12.5%.

India's healthy performance (+10.5%) could be contributed to the visa restrictions by UK and US for first time Indian visitors, which have diverted Indian visitors to the Far East. Holiday arrivals grew 24.6% while first time visitors rose 19.1%.

Visitor arrivals from South Korea registered a 3.3% growth, largely due to the increase in holiday traffic (+3.2%) and first time visitors (+5.5%).

Holiday arrivals from the top 12 markets registered a positive growth of 3.8%. Markets that grew were China (+42.0%), India (+24.6%), Indonesia (+5.2%), Thailand (+3.9%) and South Korea (+3.2%). Conversely, the USA (-12.5%), Malaysia (-11.5%), Japan (-6.2%) and Australia (-5.8%) posted declines in this segment.

Business-related traffic fell marginally by 1.0%, caused primarily by the drop in business-related traffic from Hong Kong (-10.3%), Taiwan (-7.8%), Malaysia (-7.4%), and UK (-5.1%). Markets that registered growth were China (+16.1%), South Korea (+7.4%) and Indonesia (+3.4%).

Hotel Sector Performance in January - December 2002

Maximum room-nights: 11,179,632 (+0.8%); Available room-nights: 10,423,522 (+0.4%)

Gross lettings: 7,762,207 (-2.0%); Paid lettings: 7,636,393 (-2.1%)

Standard AOR: 74.5% (down 1.8 percentage points over January - December 2001)

Standard ARR: $126.3 (-5.3%)

Revpar: $94.0 (-7.6%)

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AOR = Average Occupancy Rate 
ARR = Average Room Rate
Revpar = AOR X ARR
Figures for the Hotel Sector Performance is updated as at 15th January 2003.