Singapore tourism brings in S$6.4 billion

SINGAPORE – Singapore earned about S$6.4 billion in tourism receipts for the first six months of the year, a decline of 13.5 percent compared to the same period last year.

About 4.5 million tourists visited the city-state in the same months, registering also a decline of 11.5 percent compared to the January to June period last year, according to Singapore Tourism Board (STB) in its half-yearly summary report Thursday.

STB said it projected ranges for 2009 full-year tourism receipts of S$12.0 to S$12.5 billion and 9.0 to 9.5 million visitor arrivals remained unchanged although travellers were expected to stay cautious as uncertainties continued around Influenza A H1N1 and the general economic environment.

Indonesia, China, India and Australia were expected to be the top four largest tourism receipts generating markets for the city-said this year, STB said.

For the first six months, Singapore’s top five tourism receipt-generating markets were Indonesia (S$1,071 million), China (S$575 million), Australia (S$444 million), India (S$431 million) and the United Kingdom (S$299 million).

These markets accounted for 44 percent of total tourism receipts during the period, STB said.

The republic’s top five visitor-generating markets were Indonesia (766,000), China (457,000), Australia (376,000), India (361,000) and Malaysia (317,000), accounting for over 50 percent of total visitor arrivals in the six months.