Singapore Visitor Arrivals for August 2008

In August 2008, visitor arrivals to Singapore reached 842,000, a decline of 7.7% compared to August 2007. Visitor days were estimated to reach 3.7 million days, an increase of 3.8% in comparison with August 2007.

Indonesia (133,000), P.R. China (91,000), Australia (65,000), India (58,000) and Japan (53,000) were Singapore’s top five visitor-generating markets. These markets accounted for 48% of total visitor arrivals for the month.

Among the top 15 markets, Germany (8%), Australia (5%), Vietnam (4%), India (3%) and the Philippines (1%) registered growth. 9 out of the top 15 markets saw a decline in visitor arrivals compared to August 2007, a likely result of the global economic slowdown.

Singapore gazetted hotels were estimated to reap Sin$165 million in room revenue, representing a growth of 3.6% versus August 2007.

The Average Room Rate (ARR) in August 2008 was estimated to be Sin$232, representing an increase of 14.9% over August 2007. The Average Occupancy Rate (AOR) for hotels was estimated to reach 81% in August 2008, posting a 9.5 percentage point decrease over August 2007. Revenue Per Available Room (Revpar) grew by 2.8% to reach Sin$187 for August 2008.

The decline in visitor arrivals in August, July and June reflects the current challenging global economic environment and outlook for the tourism sector, which Singapore Tourism Board (STB) believes may continue into 2009. While the tourism sector is likely to fall short of this year’s target of 10.8 million visitors, STB is strengthening its efforts in increasing tourism spend to achieve the tourism receipts target of Sin$15.5 billion.

See also: Singapore Visitor Arrivals for July 2008 and other recent news regarding: Travel News Asia, Promotions, New Hotels, Singapore, Visitor Arrivals