Global rebound leads to a surge in Singapore visitors

Singapore:  Singapore's visitor arrivals surged in April as a recovery in the global economy encouraged travel and the island's two casino-resorts attracted tourists to their roulette tables, shops and hotels.

Visitor arrivals rose 20.4 per cent to 938,000 last month from a year earlier, the Singapore Tourism Board said in a statement yesterday.

The arrivals were the highest ever for April, and followed four months of record gains.

"This can be attributed to the continued improvement of the economic climate, leading to growth in visitor arrivals to Singapore," according to the statement.

Singapore aims to lure 17 million visitors and reach annual tourism revenue of S$30 billion (Dh77 billion) by 2015, helped by casino resorts run by Las Vegas Sands and Genting Singapore.

The island may get as many as 12.5 million visitors this year and tourism receipts may reach as much as S$18.5 billion, Senior Minister of State for Trade and Industry S. Iswaran said on May 18.

Marina Bay Sands, which has been built beside Singapore's financial district, opened parts of its $5.5 billion resort on April 27, two months after the $4.7 billion casino development on Singapore's Sentosa Island.

Attractions

Resorts World, which is run by Genting, includes a Universal Studios theme park.

Arrivals from Thailand surged 57.5 per cent while those from Malaysia rose 50.8 per cent in April, making the two countries among the biggest visitor-generating markets for the city state, the tourism board said.

Travellers from Indonesia, India and China rounded off the top five visiting nationalities.

Hotels increased prices as occupancy rates rose, according to the board's figures.

The average hotel room occupancy rate was 85 per cent in April, 15 percentage points more than a year earlier, while hotel room revenue rose 36.5 per cent to S$158 million in the same period.