SINGAPORE – Even as Singapore makes headway in attracting more tourists, visitors are spending less overall on their holidays, especially on accommodation.
In the first half of this year, Singapore drew a 1.3% uptick in visitor arrivals to 9.3 million compared to the same period last year, a Singapore Tourism Board (STB) report shows.
We will continue to enhance our wide range of attractions and events, as well as the rich cultural and heritage precincts and festivals that remain a draw for visitors,– STB’s director of digital transformation, Poh Chi Chuan
In a report released on Wednesday (Oct 30), tourist spend from January to June dropped by 3% to S$13.1 billion (US$ 9.63 billion), from the same period last year.
Tourist spend has been on the decline. In April to June this year, the number of visitors grew by 1.7% from the same quarter last year, but the total spend dropped by 1.3% over the same period.
STB’s director of digital transformation Poh Chi Chuan attributed the overall decrease in spend to visitors being cautious due to “ongoing risk and uncertainties in the global economy”, such as the trade tensions between the United States and China, Britain’s looming exit from the European Union, as well as currency fluctuations against the Singapore dollar.
Out of the five areas tracked for tourism spend, accommodations saw the biggest year-on-year decline of 13% in the first half of this year.
Mr Poh said the fall was due to more visitors opting to stay in lower-tier hotels, or with friends and relatives.
He also noted a slight increase in visitors spending shorter stays in Singapore, such as cruise passengers or those visiting Singapore together with other destinations.
Spending by tourists from China and India, two of Singapore’s top three source countries for visitors, also dropped over the first half of this year, compared to the same period a year earlier.
In all, 1.8 million Chinese tourists and 747,000 Indian tourists visited Singapore during the first six months of this year.
Looking ahead, Mr Poh said that the STB board expects some macroeconomic and external challenges to persist and that Singapore’s tourism performance would continue to be affected, particularly its tourism receipts.
STB will continue to diversify its portfolio by marketing to tier-two cities in China and India, such as Chongqing and Jaipur.
“We will continue to enhance our wide range of attractions and events, as well as the rich cultural and heritage precincts and festivals that remain a draw for visitors,” Mr Poh said, adding that STB has a pipeline of tourism offerings, such as the further development of Mandai Nature Precinct and the Jurong Lake District.
“We are also committed to enriching visitor experience to encourage them to spend more time in Singapore. STB will continue to work closely with industry stakeholders to encourage day-trippers to extend their stay in Singapore, which will contribute to higher per capita expenditure.”