Record tourist numbers to Singapore last July

If Singapore seemed very crowded last July, one reason could be that it welcomed the most tourists ever in a month, with 1.27 million visitors arriving here.

Among the beneficiaries were hotels whose average occupancy rate that month reached an all-time high of 94 per cent.

These record figures contributed to a stellar industry performance for the third quarter of last year, based on the latest figures from the Singapore Tourism Board (STB).

Close to 3.5 million tourists visited from last July to September, up 15per cent on the same period in 2010.

Tourism receipts hit an estimated S$6 billion (US$4.6 billion), a 12 per cent hike compared with the same period in 2010.

Receipts from sightseeing and entertainment, which includes gaming at the integrated resorts, jumped 24 per cent.

Spending on accommodation rose 19 per cent, while receipts from food and beverage grew by 10 per cent.

Ngee Ann Polytechnic tourism lecturer Michael Chiam said July has traditionally been busy for the industry.

"Tourists who want to avoid the crush of school-holiday travelers in June tend to visit during the following month," he noted.

He added that the high visitor numbers would have driven up the average hotel room rate for the third quarter, which rose 11 per cent from the same period in 2010, to S$251.

Overall, tourist arrivals for the first three quarters of last year came up to more than 9.8 million while tourism receipts totaled S$17 billion.

The top five sources of visitors were Indonesia, China, Malaysia, Australia and India.

Temasek Polytechnic hospitality and tourism lecturer Gevin Png said the strong showing so far indicates that targets set by the STB for last year will likely be met.

It aims to achieve a record 12million to 13million visitor arrivals, and S$22 billion to S$24 billion in tourism receipts.In 2010, there were 11.6 million visitors and tourism receipts came up to S$18.9 billion.

Source - thejakartapost