Singapore saw growth in visitor arrivals by 6.2% (to 17.4million) across all of its top ten markets as well as higher-spending markets like China, South Korea, the USA and the UK. Tourism receipts rose by 3.9% to S$26.8 billion. It marks the second consecutive year of record tourism levels in Singapore.
The rises were attributed to a rise in leisure visitors to Singapore, as well as higher spend on shopping.
Said Lionel Yeo (CEO, Singapore Tourism Board), “The combined efforts of STB and our industry partners yielded strong results, against a context of better-than-expected global economic recover, continued growth in Asia Pacific travel and increased flight and cruise connectivity to Singapore.”
Tourism receipts and visitor arrivals
The increase in tourism receipts across most of Singapore’s top markets – China (+10%); USA (+22); UK (+24%) – was registered as the highest year-on-year absolute growth in tourism receipts (excluding sightseeing, entertainment and gaming). It was China’s third consecutive year at poll position as Singapore’s top tourism spender.
Singapore tourism did experience some decline in tourism receipts across certain markets, specifically Indonesia, which was 7% lower, India (-1%) and Japan (-9%) because of fewer BTMICE (business travel and meetings incentives, conventions and exhibitions) arrivals.
Singapore saw consistent growth in 13 out of 15 markets in 2017, with record levels coming from China, India, Vietnam, Philippines, USA, UK and Germany. India (+16%) and China (+13%) contributed most of the growth in visitor arrivals, and Vietnam (+13%) became one of Singapore’s top ten markets for the first time. Thailand and Hong Kong both posted a decline in arrivals by -3% and -13% respectively.
Darren Tan (managing director, World Express Group) said, “We see mainly two types of clients – those here on fly-cruise programmes and leisure travellers who came here on tour groups or for individual travel. The growth could be attributed to more in-market promotions… and good value in airfares and hotel rates.”
Much of Singapore’s successes in tourism over the past year have been credited to its marketing partnerships with Changi Airport Group (CAG) and Singapore Airlines (SIA). It renewed a three-year tripartite partnership with CAG and SIA worth S$34 million. On top of that, an additional S$10 million three-year partnership with SIA, which saw the creation of a new in-flight safety video, and an S$4.5 million one-year partnership with CAG that fed further investment into Chinese and Indonesian tier 2 cities.
STB also signed an MOU with Tencent to promote Singapore as an appealing destination for Chinese travellers through its various digital platforms. On top of that, STB also entered collaborative partnerships with Alipay and Grab.
Growth has also been attributed to STB’s latest “Passion Made Possible” campaign, which portrayed dramatic representations of “authentic Singapore”. The campaign – launched in August last year in Singapore and 17 overseas markets through consumer activations, trade events, industry partnerships and global marketing campaigns – was internationally received as a refreshing and creative approach to destination marketing. It generated a total media value of S$11.3 million, with over 192 million video views and 3.19 million social media engagements.
2018 Tourism forecast
STB anticipates that tourism receipts will rise between 1 to 3% in the coming year, with an increase in visitor arrivals of 1 to 4%. Its outlook is generally optimistic as tourism in APAC continues to rise, however it recognises that growth won’t come without its obstacles. Specifically, STB anticipates that geopolitical tensions and intensifying regional competition could affect Singapore’s ability to reach its next targets.
Image: Getty images
