Back at full capacity

Data for April showed a 20.4 per cent increase to 938,000 visitors. The city?s top 15 markets all posted year-on-year growth, except for the UK whose arrivals dipped by one per cent. Thailand (57.5 per cent), Malaysia (50.8 per cent) and India (30.8 per cent) led the growth spurt.

Visitor days also rose in April, up 15.5 per cent to 3.7 million days, supporting trade observations that new attractions at the city?s two integrated resorts (IRs)encouraged longer stays.

Official figures were not available at press time but another strong showing was expected for May as Asian travellers, primarily from China and Taiwan, diverted their Thailand holidays.

Vacation Asia director of marketing (inbound) Helen Goh said: ?Asian travellers tend to be more careful. Furthermore, the casinos and Universal Studios Singapore are also giving Asian travellers more reasons to divert their holidays to Singapore.?

A Hong Thai Travel Services manager believed the strong demand for Singapore would continue as it would take at least six months for Thailand to fully recover from its recent travails.

Hotels Singapore?s new IRs may have been hogging headlines, but there has also been much activity in other parts of the island.

In April, Millennium & Copthorne Hotels opened its first Studio M Hotel in the city. The 365-key property straddles the Robertson Quay and Mohamed Sultan entertainment districts.

Carlton Hotel Singapore opened its premier wing in the middle of last month, adding 287 rooms to its existing inventory of 628. Other new additions include a club lounge, the 116-seat Gravity Bar, a pillarless ballroom, a gym and a spa.

July will see the entry of luxurious 89-key Hotel Fort Canning and the 29-key Wanderlust, the third project of boutique hotel entrepreneur Loh Lik Peng, who is also responsible for Hotel 1929 and New Majestic Hotel.

Rasa Sentosa Resort closed down in March for extensive renovations that will see it rebranded as the Shangri-La?s Rasa Sentosa Resort when it reopens early next year. The renovated property will have our floors of family-friendly rooms and a new dining destination concept.

Rates Hotels in Singapore continue to enjoy strong occupancy, causing rates to inflate by some 15 per cent since the year began, according to travel agents (see related story in "Tariffs in a meteoric rise").

In April, average occupancy rate citywide rose by 15 percentage points to 85 per cent. Average room rate grew 12.2 per cent to reach S$211 (US$149).

Rendezvous Hotel Singapore enjoyed 90 per cent occupancy in the months leading to mid-April. The following month, occupancy averaged in the high 80s.

Swiss?tel Merchant Court has also been getting good meetings and corporate bookings this year. Saying the pick-up was ?beyond expectations?, general manager Rainer Tenius anticipates business to boom even more as the global economy recovers and traffic continues to spill over from Bangkok.

Access Singapore's Changi Airport had a busy April. Passenger traffic grew by 12.6 per cent to 3.28 million movements. Low-cost carriers turned out to be among the airport?s major growth drivers.

Encouraged by growing demand on the Singapore-Hong Kong route, Cathay Pacific will increase its frequency on the sector from the current 42 flights to 46 from June 2 and 49 from August 1. Cathay?s marketing and sales manager Benjamin Khoo said: ?Traffic from Hong Kong to Singapore has gone up because of the two integrated resorts.?

Etc Disproving Singapore?s longheld reputation as a concrete jungle, two new nature-based attractions are poised to grace the island.

Woodlands Waterfront, a nine-hectare park with nature trails and a promenade, opened its first phase covering three hectares on May 23. The remaining six hectares will open by the end of the year.

Singapore?s fourth wildlife park, River Safari, broke ground last month with the view to  open in 2012. It was initially scheduled to be completed by next year.