Singapore Visitor Arrivals in December 2009 and Year 2009

Visitor arrivals to Singapore registered 9.4% growth to reach 971,000 in December 2009. Remarkably, considering the global economic climate and other factors, this is the highest visitor arrivals in a month ever achieved. FPT were estimated at 3.7 million days, a year-on-year growth of 5.3% in comparison with December 2008.

 Indonesia (214,000), Malaysia (111,000), P.R. China (88,000), Australia (84,000), and India (70,000) were Singapore’s top five visitor-generating markets in December 2009. These markets accounted for 58% of total visitor arrivals for the month. In December 2009, Indonesia (+18.7%), Malaysia (+31.3%) and P.R. China (+31.9%) registered their highest absolute growth out of the top 15 markets in the Christmas festive season as compared to the same period in 2008.

Gazetted hotel room revenue for the month was estimated at Sin$132 million, representing a decrease of 7.1% compared to a year ago. Average Occupancy Rate was at 80.4% for December 2009, posting a 7.4 percentage point increase over December 2008.

Average Room Rate for December 2009 was estimated at Sin$179, representing a decline of 17.2% over December 2008. Revenue Per Available Room decreased by 8.8% to reach Sin$144 in December 2009. Hotel room revenue was estimated to reach Sin$132 million in December 2009, a drop of 7.1% against December 2008. In December 2009, the AOR of Mid-tier was 84%, reporting the largest growth (+8.9 percentage points). The ARR of Upscale tier was $202 in December 2009, recording the smallest decline of 14.0% compared to the same month last year. Hotels in the Upscale tier saw the smallest decline (-6.1%) in RevPAR in December 2009 to reach $161.

Singapore Visitor Arrivals in 2009

Visitor arrivals to Singapore reached 9.7 million in 2009, registering a year-on-year percentage decline of 4.3%. Visitor days were estimated at 39.1 million days, a year-on-year decrease of 5.5% in comparison with January to December 2008.

 From January to December 2009, Indonesia (1,745,000), P.R. China (937,000), Australia (830,000), Malaysia (764,000) and India (726,000) were Singapore’s top five visitor-generating markets. These markets accounted for over 50% of total visitor arrivals for 2009.

Among the top 15 markets, Malaysia (+18%), Vietnam (+10.9%), Hong Kong SAR (+5.9%), Germany (+4.8%) and the Philippines (+3.1%) registered growth in 2009 over 2008. Double digit growth in Malaysia and Vietnam visitor arrivals can be attributed, in part, to aggressive airline and marketing promotions under the Singapore Tourism Board’s “2009 Reasons to enjoy Singapore” global marketing campaign, as well as strong growth in arrivals on low cost carriers.

In addition to being affected by the global economic climate, Singapore’s tourism sector saw visitor arrivals from South Korea, P.R. China and Japan register the largest declines. Arrivals from South Korea were affected by the weak Korean Won, coupled with the H1N1 outbreak, which also affected the Chinese market.

Cumulative tourism receipts for January to December 2009 were estimated to reach Sin$12.4 billion, a decline of 19% compared to the same period in 2008. Indonesia (Sin$2,123 million), P.R. China (Sin$1,403 million), Australia (Sin$934 million), India (Sin$891 million) and Malaysia (Sin$673 million) were Singapore’s top five markets in terms of tourism receipts for 2009. These markets accounted for 49% of total tourism receipts during this period.

Strong growth in visitor arrivals from Malaysia in the second half of 2009 resulted in an 11% growth in tourism receipts. Japan (-30%), Philippines (-28%) and India (-27%) registered the largest declines in tourism receipts in January to December 2009. The decline in tourism receipts across these markets were due to weak travel sentiment and lower discretionary spending.

 During January to December 2009, total visitors’ spending on accommodation and shopping made up 22% and 25% of total tourism receipts respectively. Compared to 2008, shopping (Sin$3.1b) overtook accommodation (Sin$2.7b) as the highest expenditure item.

Gazetted hotel room revenue was estimated at Sin$1.51 billion, representing a decrease of 28.3% compared to a year ago. The overall average occupancy rate (AOR) from January to December 2009 was 76%, a drop of 4.6 percentage points compared to the same period a year ago. The AOR for all tiers was also lower compared to the same period last year, with the Economy tier posting the largest decline of 7.2 percentage points. Overall average room rate (ARR) reached Sin$191, a decline of 22.3%. The Mid-Tier hotels registered the lowest decline (-26.2%).

As a result of both falling AOR and ARR, overall revenue per available room (RevPar) declined by 26.6% to register Sin$146 in January to December 2009. All hotel tiers registered declines of over 25% in RevPar versus a year ago. Overall room revenue reached Sin$1.51 billion, a decline of 28.3% in January to December 2009, compared to the same period in 2008. Across all hotel tiers, room revenue of the Upscale tier showed the least decline (-25.3%) in 2009.

See also: Singapore Visitor Arrivals in 2008 and Singapore Visitor Arrivals in November 2009

See recent travel news from: Travel News Asia, December 2009, Singapore Visitor Arrivals