Singapore Tourism Revenue Surges on Record Visitor Arrivals

The money spent by tourists visiting Singapore surged last year after a record number of people travelled to the city-state, attracted by two new casinos amid a rebound in the global economy.

Spending rose 49 percent to S$18.8 billion ($14.7 billion) last year, exceeding the government’s forecast of as much as S$18.5 billion, the Singapore Tourism Board said in a statement today. International visitor arrivals rose 20 percent to 11.6 million in 2010.

Record tourist arrivals are benefitting companies from Singapore Airlines Ltd. to hotel operator Shangri-La Asia Ltd. after the government scrapped a four-decade ban on casinos to help shed what Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong called an “unexciting” image. The city aims to attract 17 million tourists annually by 2015 and boost visitor spending to S$30 billion in the same period.

Singapore’s first casinos opened last year as part of resorts run by Genting Singapore Plc and Las Vegas Sands Corp.. The resorts include gambling centers, restaurants, malls and a Universal Studios theme park.

Efforts to boost tourism in 2010 included the inaugural Youth Olympic Games, while the Singapore leg of Formula One, the world’s most-watched motor sport, took place for a third year.

Hotel room revenue rose 22 percent to S$1.9 billion from a year earlier, according to the tourism agency. Shopping, sightseeing, entertainment and accommodation made up 61 percent of tourism revenue, according to the statement.Tourism receipts accounted for about 5 percent of the economy in 2009. Comparative figures for 2010 are not yet available.

Source = bloomberg