Singapore Reports H1 2014 Visitor Arrivals

In the first half of 2014, tourism receipts (TR) in Singapore grew 2% year-on-year to Sin$11.8 billion, even while international visitor arrivals (IVA) dipped 3% to 7.5 million over the same period.

Sightseeing, Entertainment & Gaming (SEG) recorded the largest year-on-year increase (+15%) as both integrated resorts recorded higher gaming revenues. However, there was also reduced spending on Shopping (-13%) and Food & Beverage (-2%).

Excluding Sightseeing, Entertainment & Gaming (SEG) expenditure, Indonesia (Sin$1.42 billion), China (Sin$1.36 billion) and India (Sin$615 million) were Singapore’s top three TR-generating markets for January to June 2014, accounting for 39% of the overall TR (excluding SEG).

TR (excluding SEG) from Hong Kong (+14%) and Japan (+9%) recorded the largest year-on-year growth. Hong Kong and Japan’s TR increased on the back of higher per capita spend by business travellers.

China’s TR (excluding SEG) had the largest decline (-11%) compared with the same period last year due to a sharp drop in arrivals (-30%) from January to June.

In the second quarter of 2014, TR dipped 3% year-on-year to Sin$5.6 billion while IVA slid 6% to 3.6 million over the same period.

Gazetted hotel room revenue came in at an estimated Sin$0.8 billion (+5.2%) in Q2 2014 and Sin$1.6 billion (+9.1%) from January to June 2014.

Average Room Rate held relatively steady at Sin$255 in Q2 2014, supported by the strong performance in Luxury and Economy tiers.

Average Occupancy Rate came in at 84% in Q2 2014, a 2.1 percentage point dip compared with the same quarter last year. With the weakened AOR, RevPAR slipped 2.6% year-on-year to Sin$213 in Q2 2014. Despite the drop in overall RevPAR performance, the Luxury and Economy tier remained resilient, growing at 5.1% and 3.1 per rate respectively.

Gazetted hotel room revenue for January to June was estimated at Sin$1.6 billion, posting a strong 9.1% growth compared with the same six-month period last year. In the first half of the year, ARR rose 1.2% to Sin$258, while AOR dipped 1.3 percentage points to 85%. As the drop in AOR outpaced the growth in ARR, RevPAR, slid marginally to Sin$218.

Excluding expenditure on Sightseeing, Entertainment & Gaming (SEG), Indonesia (Sin$695 million), China (Sin$554 million) and India (Sin$329 million) were the top three TR generating markets in Q2 2014, and made up 38% of TR excluding SEG.

Of the top ten markets, Hong Kong (+30%) saw the highest year-on-year growth in TR, boosted by increased MICE traffic and a double-digit growth in their per capita expenditure.

China (-24%), Malaysia (-12%) and Philippines (-12%) registered the highest year-on-year declines in TR (excluding SEG) compared with the same period last year.

While China’s TR declined due to its sharp drop in visitor arrivals (-47%), there was a 56% year-on-year growth in the Chinese visitors’ average length of stay from 2.7 days last year, to 4.2 days in H1 2014. This resulted in a higher per capita expenditure by the Chinese visitors.

Fewer business travellers from Malaysia resulted in overall reduced spending, while visitors from Philippines spent less across the various components.

Singapore’s international visitor arrivals (IVA) came in at 3.6 million in the second quarter, down 6% from the same period last year. IVA for the first half of the year stood at 7.5 million, a 3% year-on-year decline caused by weaker visitor arrivals in Q2 2014.

Indonesia (1,525,000), China (871,000), Malaysia (592,000), Australia (529,000), and India (492,000) were Singapore’s top five international visitor-generating markets from January to June 2014. These markets accounted for 53% of total IVA for the first six months of the year. Chinese visitor arrivals fell 30% year-on-year, due mainly to a decline by those who stayed in Singapore for a day or less. During the same period, Chinese visitors that stayed for at least two days jumped by 21% year-on-year and for the first time outnumbered those who spent a day or less in Singapore.

The rise in Hong Kong visitor arrivals was boosted by the introduction of new flight connections by low-cost carrier Scoot airline. Similarly, South Korean visitor arrival growth had risen on the back of the additional travel route by Scoot between Seoul and Singapore, and could have been further aided by the stronger Korean won.