FACT SHEET: PERFORMANCE OF THE TOURISM SECTOR AS AT SEPTEMBER 2001

Singapore Visitor Arrivals in September 2001

Visitor arrivals in September 2001 declined by 3.1% over the same month in 2000, to a total of 593,571 visitors. The drop was largely a reaction to the September 11 terrorist attacks in New York City and Washington DC, which had affected travel from many markets worldwide. For the period of January to September this year, visitor arrivals increased 0.2% over the same period last year.

Oceania, Europe and Africa generated increases of 3.7%, 2.3% and 2.0% respectively, while arrivals from Asia (-3.0%) and Americas (-18.1%) declined.

The 12 largest visitor-generating markets were:


 

The increase in arrivals from Indonesia was supported by the rise in VFR (+8.0%).

The uncertain economic outlook coupled with security concerns over the terrorists' attacks in the USA had dampened visitor arrivals from Japan.

The increase in arrivals from Australia may be due to two factors: the Olympics in 2000 may have had affected outbound travel from Australia, while this year, reaction to the September 11 terrorist attacks may have shifted travel patterns in favour of more medium haul versus long haul from Australia.

The increase in visitor traffic from Malaysia was attributed to growth in the holiday (+16.5%) and VFR (+3.3%) segments.

Positive economic sentiments boosted arrivals from China (+10.1%). VFR and holiday traffic grew by 13.5% and 4.7% respectively.

Predictably, arrivals from the USA plummeted, largely due to the fear of travel in the aftermath of the terrorist attacks. The tragedy compounded the already falling arrivals from the USA due to the economic slowdown.

The decrease in arrivals from Taiwan could be attributed to the continued weak economy and the terrorists' attacks on the USA, which had led to travel cancellations. Furthermore, typhoon Nari adversely affected northern Taiwan, thus further reducing consumers' willingness to travel.

Holiday arrivals from the top 12 markets decreased by 5.8%, largely affected by declines from Taiwan, Japan and USA. Markets that posted strong increases included Malaysia (+16.5%) and Hong Kong (+12.8%). Other markets that grew were Australia (+9.5%), China (+4.7%), South Korea (+3.3%) and UK (+1.0%).

Overall, the business-related segment from the top 12 markets declined by 13.9%, with the exception of Australia (+12.7%), all other major markets posted decreases in business-related traffic.



Visitor Arrivals in January - September 2001



Visitor arrivals for the period of January to September 2001 rose by 0.2% over the same period in 2000, to a total of 5,747,747 visitors.

The 12 largest visitor-generating markets were:

 

Hotel Sector Performance in September 2001

(Preliminary Data)

Maximum room-nights: 912,870 (+3.0%); Available room-nights: 860,486 (+4.0%)

Gross lettings: 640,971 (-7.9%); Paid lettings: 630,287 (-8.0%)

Standard AOR: 74.5% (down 9.6 percentage points over September 2000)

Nominal AOR: 69.0% (down 8.2 percentage points over September 2000)

Standard ARR: $131.97 (+1.6%)

Nominal ARR: $134.19 (+1.7%)


AOR = Average Occupancy Rate. ARR = Average Room Rate.