Visitor arrivals to Singapore in Q3 up 15% to 3.5 m

Tuesday, 10 January 2012 00:40 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

Singapore’s international visitor arrivals for Q3 2011 stood at close to 3.5 million, representing a 15% year-on-year growth.

Indonesia (1,925,000), P.R. China (1,230,000), Malaysia (817,000), Australia (717,000) and India (641,000) were Singapore’s top five international visitor-generating markets for the period of January to September 20112. These markets accounted for 54% of total arrivals for the period. P.R. China (+39%) and the Philippines (+30%) registered the highest percentage growth out of the top 15 markets for the period of January to September 2011.

Tourism Receipts (TR) for Q3 2011 were estimated at Sin$6 billion, registering a 12% year-on-year growth. All TR components saw year-on-year growth.

Excluding Sightseeing & Entertainment expenditure, Indonesia (Sin$781 million), P.R. China (Sin$603 million), Australia (Sin$296 million), India (Sin$296 million) and Japan (Sin$232 million) were Singapore’s top five TR generating markets for Q3 2011.

All top 10 markets registered year-on-year growth in Q3, except USA (-14%) which saw a continuing decline in business traffic.

India (+41%) was the top growth market in terms of TR, boosted by a strong increase in business traffic in Q3. Significant TR increases were also registered for Japan (36%), Philippines (34%) and P.R. China (31%), primarily due to an increase in leisure traffic and shopping expenditure.

Tourism Receipts (TR) for January to September 2011 were estimated at Sin$17 billion, registering a 22% year-on-year growth.

Excluding Sightseeing & Entertainment expenditure, Indonesia (Sin$2,114 million), P.R. China (Sin$1,579 million), Australia (Sin$818 million), India (Sin$808 million) and Malaysia (Sin$635 million) were Singapore’s top five TR generating markets for January to September 2011.

Asia’s share of TR continues to grow, as western markets such as USA and UK, affected by poor economic conditions, showed a decline in their respective shares of TR.

Gazetted hotel room revenue for Q3 2011 came in at an estimated Sin$0.7 billion, representing an 18% year-on-year growth. July 2011 posted a record high AOR as arrivals reached an all-time peak. With continued increase in arrivals as a result of F1 and the accompanying events of the Grand Prix Season Singapore among others, September 2011 registered the highest RevPAR ever recorded.

The Average Room Rate stood at Sin$251 in Q3 2011, a year-on-year increase of 11%. Room rates for all hotel tiers increased, with the Upscale tier posting the highest growth rate at 11%, while Average Occupancy Rate reached 88% in Q3 2011.

Robust performance in ARR and AOR resulted in a 16% growth in RevPAR, which stood at Sin$222 in Q3 2011. The Upscale tier was the top performer in terms of RevPAR growth.