Singapore Tourism Sector on Track for Another Record Year

Singapore’s tourism industry hit record highs from January to June 2007, achieving an estimated Sin$6.4 billion in tourism receipts and welcoming 4.9 million visitor arrivals. The hotel sector’s performance also achieved record highs, surpassing the records set in the first half of 2006.

“The first half of 2007 showed a continuation of the good momentum we have been seeing in recent years. The tourism sector has done even better than it did in the same period last year. Compared to the same period in 2006, the first half of 2007 showed a strong 9% growth in tourism receipts and a 5.2% increase in visitor arrivals. We have also seen record high visitor arrivals for each month this year compared to the same month in previous years,” said Mr Lim Neo Chian, Chief Executive and Deputy Chairman of the Singapore Tourism Board.

The hotel sector posted positive performance with hotel occupancy and room rates at an all time high. For the January to June 2007 period, the Average Room Rate (ARR) grew by 19.5% to Sin$192, while Average Occupany Rate (AOR) reached 86%. Revenue per available room (RevPar) hit Sin$165.9 and gazetted hotels in Singapore generated total room revenue of Sin$854.4 million. These are record highs for the January to June period.

 For the month of June 2007, the ARR crossed the Sin$200 mark for the first time to reach Sin$210. Gazetted hotels in Singapore generated Sin$164.3 million in room revenue and Sin$181.6 in RevPar. These are not only historical highs for any single month, but also significant double-digit growth in excess of 20%, as compared to the June 2006.

Visitor arrivals from India, the Philippines and Vietnam have shown strong double digit growth over the previous year. For the first half of 2007, India moved up to being Singapore’s third largest visitor generating market, after Indonesia and P.R. China, growing by 15.1% to reach 386,000. The strong growth in arrivals from India was driven by a series of branding and promotional campaigns which generated strong destination awareness and interest. 

India, Indonesia, P.R. China and Australia alone accounted for 44% of the increase in overall visitor arrivals from January to June 2007, propelled by strong growth in their respective domestic economies. Higher visitor arrivals in the first half of 2007 also resulted in higher visitor days which were estimated at 17.9 million, showing a 13.1% increase over the same period last year. This is a record high number of visitor days for the period.

The STB set annual targets for 2007 at Sin$13.6 billion in tourism receipts and 10.2 million in visitor arrivals. Commenting on whether targets would be met by the end of 2007, Mr Lim said, “Barring any major catastrophe, 2007 will likely be another record-breaking year. If the industry continues to sustain the growth momentum, the Board is confident 2007 targets will be met. Historically, higher visitor arrivals are posted in the second half of the year when visitors travel to Singapore during peak travel months of July, August and December.”

The tourism sector received Sin$12.4 billion in annual tourism receipts in 2006, Sin$10.8 billion in 2005 and Sin$9.8 billion in 2004. There were 9.7 million annual visitor arrivals in 2006, 8.9 million in 2005 and 8.3 million in 2004.

Singapore Visitor Arrivals for June 2007

In June 2007, Singapore welcomed 848,000 visitors, representing a growth of 7.5% as compared to the corresponding period year ago. Visitor days were estimated to reach 3.3 million days, an increase of 16.9% in comparison to June 2006.

Indonesia (180,000), India (81,000), P.R. China (77,000), Australia (67,000) and Malaysia (59,000) were Singapore’s top five visitor-generating markets in June 2007. These markets accounted for 55% of total visitor arrivals for the month.

Surpassing the previous high in July 2005, visitor arrivals from Vietnam achieved a new record of 23,000 visitors in June 2007.

The Average Occupancy Rate (AOR) for hotels was estimated to have reached 86% in June 2007, posting a marginal 0.4 percentage point increase over June 2006. The Average Room Rate (ARR) in June 2007 was estimated to reach Sin$210, representing an increase of 22.6% over June 2006. 

With ARR exceeding Sin$200 for the first time, Singapore gazetted hotels were estimated to generate Sin$164.3 million in room revenue, representing a growth of 26% as compared with June 2006. This was also the highest ever room revenue generated in a single month.

See also: Singapore Visitor Arrivals for May 2007 and other recent news regarding: Singapore, Visitor Arrivals