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Singapore is bracing for the novel coronavirus to have a greater impact on its tourism industry than the severe acute respiratory syndrome (Sars) outbreak, as it forecasts a fall in tourism arrivals of up to 30 per cent this year.
As Sars upended global travel and kept people indoors in 2003, the island nation suffered a 19 per cent year-on-year drop in visitor arrivals.
For 2020, Singapore is estimating a daily loss of 18,000 to 20,000 international arrivals, according to the Singapore Tourism Board.
Much of this is expected to come from a reduction in Chinese tourists following Singapore’s restrictions on travel from mainland China, but the Southeast Asian nation is also feeling the impact of leisure and business travellers’ decision to give Asia a wide berth.
Singapore Tourism Board chief executive Keith Tan said the drop could “very well increase” depending on how the outbreak unfolds, adding that tourism receipts would likely fall at a similar rate to arrivals.
Singapore recorded $27.1 billion in tourism spending last year, $3.2 billion of which came from its 3.6 million Chinese visitors.
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