Singapore Visitor Arrivals - April 2004

Singapore welcomed 651,860 visitors in April 2004, which translates into a 5% increase over the 622,301 visitors who arrived in April 2002.

The visitor arrival figures for April 2004 represent a 220% increase over the figures for April 2003 (203,562 visitors). Singapore Tourism Board stated that is because of this SARS-affected, low base in 2003, that analysis for April 2004 has been done with respect to performance in 2002, in order to provide a feel for the "true growth" in visitor arrivals and the hotel cluster in Singapore.

Country Performance

China continues to consolidate its position as the number-two source market for Singapore, and together with top-ranking Indonesia, account for 31% of total arrivals in April 2004.

Arrivals from Indonesia (+28%), the Philippines (+27%), India (+26%), Thailand (+18%) and China (+17%) posted the largest increases among the top-13 visitor-generating markets in April 2004, when compared to April 2002 figures.

Several factors may have contributed to the strong visitor arrival figures from Indonesia, which registered a 28% increase over April 2002 figures. Examples of these factors include competitive air-ticket pricing and packages for events such as Singapore Fashion Festival, Lord of the Rings exhibition, and Food & Hotel Asia 2004, as well as for services included in medical packages.

The two long weekends in Indonesia - Election Day and Good Friday - may have also provided good opportunities for Indonesians to make holiday trips to Singapore.

The continued marketing collaboration with travel agencies in China to attract the free and independent traveller (FIT) and free and easy (F&E) segments to capitalise on the revised social visa scheme may have helped push arrivals up in April 2004 (17%), compared to April 2002. Heavy media promotions in Sichuan, Shanghai, Zhejiang and Nanjing, in conjunction with increases in flight capacity, were likely to have spurred arrivals as well.

Arrivals from the Philippines climbed 27% in April 2004 when compared to April 2002 figures. This increase may have resulted from factors such as: A joint promotion between Singapore Airlines and several Philippine travel agents on "Celebrate Singapore", which has seen many attractive packages being offered to would-be travellers; and STB's participation the Philippines Travel Agent Association's Travel and Tour Fair (held in Manila), and the Visayas Travel and Tourism Fair (held in Cebu).

Singapore has maintained its top-of-mind awareness in India as a result of a range of marketing and publicity campaigns being deployed in the market. Singapore is also gaining popularity as a stopover destination for Indians travelling to Australia and New Zealand for film production purposes. These factors may have positively affected visitor arrivals in April 2004, which posted a 26% increase when compared to April 2002 figures.

Visitor arrivals from Thailand for the month of April have traditionally been the highest when compared to the rest of the year, as the Songkran festival provides Thais with an extended holiday break. Arrivals in April 2004 grew 18% when compared to April 2002. Other factors which may have contributed to the strong Thai figures include strong consumer confidence boosted by a buoyant Thai economy, and aggressive promotions by airlines and travel agents aided by soft pricing.

Singapore Hotel Industry Performance

Hotel occupancy rates posted 1.3% growth compared to April 2002

The average occupancy rate (AOR) for hotels in April 2004 is estimated to have reached 78%, which translates into a 1.3 percentage point rise over April 2002 figures. However, the average room rate (ARR), which at S$118.6 declined by 5.8% when compared to April 2002, led total room revenue to decrease by 7%.