Singapore Visitor Arrivals in August 2002

Singapore visitor arrivals in August 2002 fell by 3.3% over the same month in 2001, to a total of 671,154 visitors.

The 12 largest visitor-generating markets were:

Total Arrivals: 671,154 (-3.3%)

1. Indonesia 105,844 (-1.5%) 7. UK 37,904 (-2.8%) 
2. Japan 85,604 (-7.5%) 8. USA 27,720 (-3.2%) 
3. P R China 62,692 (+22.4%) 9. India 27,261 (+7.7%) 
4. Australia 43,836 (-3.8%) 10. Hong Kong 26,501 (-7.1%) 
5. Malaysia 40,100 (-15.5%) 11. Taiwan 22,127 (+0.7%) 
6. South Korea 39,217 (+9.2%) 12. Thailand 20,946 (-5.2%)

Visitor arrivals from Indonesia dipped marginally by 1.5%, attributed to the drop in business-related traffic (-6.8%).

Aggressive media promotions, especially with a focus on group travel packages, led to a double-digit growth (+22.4%) in visitor arrivals from China. This resulted in a 20.6% increase in group packaged tours. Holiday traffic grew by 25.0%.

The increase in incentive travel (800 pax) contributed to the increase in visitor traffic from South Korea (+9.2%). Holiday and business-related arrivals grew 7.8% and 20.5% respectively.

The decline in visitor arrivals from Hong Kong (-7.1%) was contributed by the drop in business-related arrivals (-15.1%).

India's arrivals grew 7.7%, boosted by a strong increase in holiday arrivals (+12.9%). There was also a significant rise in non-group travel package and FITs, by 20.1% and 18.8% respectively.

Taiwan continued its second consecutive month of positive growth, with a 0.7% increase in visitor arrivals this month. Promotions of cruise packages led to a growth of 25.0% in sea arrivals. Holiday traffic grew 1.4%.

Overall, holiday arrivals from the top 12 markets fell marginally by 0.6%. Growth was registered from China (+25.0%), India (+12.9%), South Korea (+7.8%), Indonesia (+2.5%) and Taiwan (+1.4%). Decreases were registered from Malaysia (-28.5%), USA (-9.2%), Japan (-8.8%) and Australia (-7.9%).

Overall, business-related1 traffic fell 4.0%, largely affected by the performance out of Hong Kong (-15.1%), Taiwan (-10.0%), UK (-9.7%) and Malaysia (-8.8%). On the other hand, China (+30.7%), South Korea (+20.5%) and India (+3.9%) registered increases.

Business-related segment includes Business, Business & Pleasure and MICE arrivals.

Hotel Sector Performance in August 2002

Maximum room-nights: 953,250 (+1.0%); Available room-nights: 884,430 (-0.9%)

Gross lettings: 647,256 (-4.8%); Paid lettings: 637,069 (-4.8%)

Standard AOR: 73.2% (down 3.0 percentage points over Aug 2001)

Standard ARR: $122.04 (-6.1%)

Visitor Arrivals in January - August 2002

Visitor arrivals in January - August dropped by 2.4% over the same period in 2001, to a total of 5,031,910 visitors. With a total arrival of 472,343, Japan overtook China and became the second largest visitor-generating market in January - August 2002.

The 12 largest visitor-generating markets were:

Total Arrivals: 5,031,910 (-2.4%)

1. Indonesia 870,331 (+0.3%) 7. South Korea 267,371 (+5.0%) 
2. Japan 472,343 (-17.7%) 8. India 248,407 (+5.8%) 
3. P R China 450,071 (+35.9%) 9. USA 224,471 (-10.3%) 
4. Australia 361,798 (-1.3%) 10. Hong Kong 188,651 (-3.8%) 
5. Malaysia 350,250 (-7.9%) 11. Thailand 177,706 (-0.1%) 
6. UK 306,161 (-1.6%) 12. Taiwan 155,231 (-2.8%)

Holiday arrivals from the top 12 markets declined marginally by 0.5%. The decline was mainly contributed by Japan (-22.1%), USA (-20.0%), Malaysia (-11.4%) and Australia (-3.8%). Conversely, China (41.6%), India (+21.0%) South Korea (+3.2%), Hong Kong (+2.6%) and Indonesia (+2.5%) posted increases in this segment.

Business-related traffic fell 4.7%, caused primarily by the drop in business-related traffic from Hong Kong (-13.1%), Malaysia (-11.2%), Japan (-10.1%), Taiwan (-9.4%) and UK (-7.7%). Markets that registered growth were China (+14.7%), South Korea (+5.4%) and Indonesia (+1.4%).

Hotel Sector Performance in January - August 2002

Maximum room-nights: 7,462,732 (+1.1%); Available room-nights: 6,983,113 (+0.3%)

Gross lettings: 5,203,598 (-4.2%); Paid lettings: 5,122,792 (-4.4%)

Standard AOR: 74.5% (down 3.6 percentage points over January - Aug 2001)

Standard ARR: $127.34 (-5.8%)

Note : AOR = Average Occupancy Rate 
ARR = Average Room Rate