SINGAPORE –
As a result of the growth of the Chinese market and the increase in spending on food and beverage, shopping and accommodation, the number of tourists and consumption in Singapore in 2016 hit a record high.
According to the Singapore Tourism Board (STB) preliminary estimates, the number of tourists last year increased by 7.7% to 16.4 million, and tourism revenue increased by 13.9% to $ 24.8 billion.
Strong performance marked a decline from tourism revenue by 7.6% to $ 21.8 billion in 2015, the first decline since 2009.
The good news for the retail industry is that between January and September 2016, shopping spending increased by 48% compared to the same period in 2015. This is due to increased spending on candy, gifts and souvenirs as well as fashion and accessories, and STB reviewed the performance of the past year at a media conference (February 14).
Visitors are also willing to go out for more accommodation (up 28%) and food and drink (an increase of 24%). However, sightseeing, entertainment and games fell by 16%, and integrated resorts reported lower betting revenues.
Indonesia is still the main source of tourists in the Republic of 2016, and China began China after China became the first place in January to November. Followed by Malaysia, down 2% due to devaluation of ringgit, India ranked fourth in Australia.
Chinese tourists are the biggest consumers for the second consecutive year, with visitors increasing by 36% and becoming the largest growth market.
The agency said there has been an increase in the number of visitors from first-tier and second-tier cities in China, India and Indonesia, and STB has stepped up its marketing efforts.
Hong Kong’s largest visitor arrivals (-12%) were mainly due to weak economic performance.
Business activity and the cruise industry showed double-digit year-on-year growth. More than 410 business events were held in 2016, bringing 28% revenue growth and cruise passenger traffic up 16% to 1.2 million.
“Despite Singapore’s premier economic performance in some of the major source markets and the outbreak of the card card, Singapore has managed to attract more quality visitors and contribute to economic growth,” said Lionel Yeo, chief executive officer of STB.
This year, STB predicts that tourism revenue will grow by 1 to 4 percent to $ 25.1 billion to $ 25.8 billion. The number of visitors is expected to be 16.4 million to 16.7 million, an increase of 0% to 2%.
This article was first published on Feb 14, 2017.
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