The downward trend of tourist arrivals in Singapore, which started in June 2008, touched the lowest level in October on account of the global financial crisis and expensive hospitality industry.
The Singapore Tourism Board (STB) has released the figures for tourist arrivals in Singapore during October 2008. The released data shows a drop of 8.1% (to 843,000) in visitor arrivals from 917,000 in October 2007, as reported by Bernama. This was the highest monthly fall since June 2008 when the tourist arrivals declined for the first time in 2008.
The top five tourist generating markets for Singapore were Indonesia (157,000 visitors), Malaysia (54,000 visitors), China (76,000 visitors), India (67,000 visitors) and Australia (76,000 visitors). All the five markets represented 51% of the total visitors in the month of October 2008.
The revenue from hotel rooms in Singapore was expected at S$178 for October 2008, but it slipped 0.3% from October 2007. The average occupancy rate also posted a decline of 6.8%, well below from an estimated 82%.
The global financial crisis is the main cause for steep fall in tourist arrivals in Singapore as it has severely hit the consumer confidence and discretionary spending power. Consequently, people around the globe have cut down their spending on traveling and tourism.
In addition, some of the key tourist generating markets for Singapore, like Indonesia, is badly hit by high crude oil prices and unfavorable repatriation, which, in turn, is affecting the flow of tourists. The current trend of downfall is likely to continue next year also.
The industry is eagerly waiting for the first three months of 2009 as they are likely to set standard for the remaining months.
According to a Research Analyst at RNCOS, “The impact of global financial crisis is clearly visible on the Singaporean tourism industry that witnessed the sharpest monthly fall in tourist arrivals during October 2008. The industry should intensify promotion campaigns to lure more visitors and making maximum profit. The industry could reduce the fares of local attractions and cut down hotel room rates to curb declining tourist numbers.”
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