Singapore sees first hike in tourist arrivals

In a sure sign that the economic storm is abating visitor arrivals to Singapore hit 799,000 in September, representing a 7.1 per cent increase over the corresponding month last year.

In a sure sign that the economic storm is abating visitor arrivals to Singapore hit 799,000 in September, representing a 7.1 per cent increase over the corresponding month last year.

This is the first growth since visitor arrivals began to dip 15 months ago. Two-thirds of Singapore’s leading visitor-generating markets saw growth: in the top 15 arrivals, 10 were up.

Malaysia, Singapore’s third largest visitor generating market, recorded the biggest increase of 51.2 per cent. Indonesia, Singapore’s top visitor market, recorded an increase of 26.8 per cent.

The number of visitors from Japan also saw grew for the first time this year by 7.7 per cent.

In a statement released on Tuesday, the Singapore Tourism Board (STB) said the reasons for the pick-up here was due to the Hari Raya holidays and Japan’s five-day Silver Week vacation taking place in September, plus ‘attractive travel packages and aggressive marketing for the Singapore Grand Prix Season’ made Singapore a favourable destination.

The only market in the top five that showed negative growth were tourists from China, where arrivals fell 11 per cent.

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Linda Hohnholz

Editor in chief for eTurboNews based in the eTN HQ.

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