Business is booming for restaurants, attractions at Sentosa

SINGAPORE : Restaurants and tourist attractions at Sentosa have enjoyed a 20 per cent increase in their business since Resorts World Sentosa opened a week ago.

Sentosa Leisure Group said it is seeing an average of 30,000 visitors each day during this Lunar New Year.

That is twice more than the daily average.

Sentosa Leisure Group added that the Merlion is its top attraction during the Lunar New Year.

It has seen a 30 per cent increase in visitors, compared to the same period last year.

And visitors to the island are also staying an average of one day as compared to half a day before.

Hotels like Rasa Sentosa Resort are also welcoming more visitors.

Rasa Sentosa is fully booked during this Lunar New Year period.

Anticipating more visitors to the island, it has decided to close for renovations for 10 months to add new rooms and facilities.

Ben Bousnina, general manager, Rasa Sentosa Resort, said: "(Now that) Resorts World has arrived...I do not think we will have enough rooms on the island, because the whole world would like to come to Sentosa Island which has become a world's destination."


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Singapore Casino Attracts Record Amount of Visitors

Resorts World Sentosa, the first casino to open in Singapore, has attracted 35,000 visitors in just two days. Visits to the Sentosa Island were up by 20% to 75,000, when compared with 2009’s tourist levels. In order to cope with demand, the casino management split the queues into Singapore residents and overseas visitors. While the former managed to get into the new resort relatively quickly, reports have suggested that the foreign visitors queue often surpassed the 100 metre mark, with some queuing for over two hours.

Only a few of the attractions at the casino opened over the weekend, but those that did took in a phenomenal amount of visitors, with patrons having to queue for 30-40 minutes for a table. The Singapore newspaper, Straits Times, has remarked that the queues were an unexpected “teething problem” for Resorts World Sentosa, with visitor surges throughout the weekend meaning that many were refused entry during peak times. Krist Boo, the vice-president of communications at Resorts World told reporters that the queues were often “overwhelming”, noting that they have had a “very good response to the casino opening”.


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Singapore Tourism Report Q1 2010 - new market report released

Singapore's tourism industry experienced a difficult H109 Visitor arrivals were down by 11.5%, to just 4.51mn in January-June. The Singapore Tourist Board (STB) attributed the poor performance primarily to the global economic crisis, but arrivals from North Asia were also reduced due to the effects of the H1N1 virus (swine flu) pandemic.

From the halfway point of the year, tourist
arrivals resumed an upwards trend. In December 2009, the STB said visitor arrivals stood at 8.71mn for January-November. Strong increases were recorded in arrivals from Indonesia, Malaysia and China over October and November. That said, we believe the most likely outcome for the year as a whole is a slight fall in arrivals from 2008’s 10.12mn arrivals, mainly as a result of the very poor first half.

…But The Longer-Term Prognosis Remains Positive
Although 2009 was difficult for the Singaporean tourism industry, there are reasons to be positive about the medium-to-long term as the global economy recovers. In particular, the opening of the two integrated resorts, at Marina Bay and Sentosa, in 2010 should help the island attract new tourists. Also in 2010, Singapore will host the first Youth Olympics and open the International Cruise Terminal.

Tiger Airways Announces IPO

In January 2010, Singapore's Tiger Airways unveiled its long awaited initial public offering (IPO) of stock in the company. The airline hopes to raise SGD273mn via the IPO, which it will use to fund aircraft purchases and pay down debt.

Some media reports said Tiger Airways had initially hoped to raise more money via the IPO, but an uncertain outlook for global investment markets and the challenging outlook for the airline industry may have both played a part in the downsizing of the offer.

Integrated Resorts

Opening Soon Four of the new hotels at the Sentosa integrated resort – Maxims Tower, Hotel Michael, Festive Hotel and the Hard Rock Hotel Singapore –start phased opening in late January 2010. The other two hotels at the resort are the Equarius Hotel and Spa Villas. Bookings for the hotels opened in H209. Other attractions at Sentosa will include a Universal Studios theme park, a casino and the world’s largest oceanarium. We believe Sentosa and other new resorts will do much to significantly boost Singapore’s tourism industry from 2010 onwards. We expect to report on the opening of the resort and its prospects in Q210.


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Tourist arrivals expected to increase due to integrated resorts

SINGAPORE: Tourism in Singapore is expected to experience a boom this year thanks to the opening of the integrated resorts.

Industry players say there are now over 950 travel agents in Singapore - an increase of over 100 from the previous year.

Travel agents told MediaCorp that there are now more queries on visiting Universal Studios Singapore.

Some operators are also increasing investments to expand their businesses and gain a bigger share of the tourism dollar.

The two integrated resorts are expected to bring in more tourists to Singapore in the next one to two years.

However, what is important is to entice tourists to stay one more night, which can help the tourism industry to reap more profits.

Tourists currently stay for about three nights.

"Right now, we are only getting about 10 million tourist arrivals," said Robert Khoo, chief executive officer at NATAS.

"I'm sure we can cater to a lot more. And I believe the Tourism Board has a much higher target for 2015. So I think there is still a lot of room for growth."


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Visitors try out new Singapore casino

Singapore has opened its first casino, with visitors flooding into the Sentosa island resort.

The casino welcomed its first visitors Sunday to coincide with the first day of the Lunar New Year.

As part of an effort by Singapore to increase its tourist numbers, the government approved the US$4.7 billion complex, which was built by Malaysia's Genting Group.

Sentosa island, which is visited by some five million people a year, was once a prisoner of war camp, housing Australian and British prisoners of the Japanese.

It is linked to Singapore's main island by a bridge.

The new casino complex will also house the new Universal Studios movie theme park and other five-star hotels.


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Tourist arrivals down 4.3%

THE number of visitors to Singapore fell by 4.3 per cent last year to 9.7 million, driving the revenue from the sector down 19 per cent to S$12.4 billion, the Singapore Tourism Board (STB) said on Tuesday.

The number was still slightly higher than the STB's target of 9 to 9.5 million visitors, which, analysts said, was conservative.

The tourism industry fell short of 700,000 tourists in 2008 - the first time it missed its targets since annual goals were set in 2003.

But the outlook is brightening. Tourist arrivals in December reached 971,000 - the highest monthly level ever recorded. This added to the turnaround in the last quarter of the year, said STB chief Aw Kah Peng on Tuesday.

'It is a significant drop. But if you think about how airfares and, particularly accommodation, have fallen, those categories would have contributed to more than a 20 per cent drop,' she said, citing the global recession and H1N1 flu pandemic as the main culprits. 'Therefore, immediately it has a drag on total toruism receipts. So in that sense, we are not particularly surprised that our receipts have come down.'

Ms Aw said targets for 2010 would be announced in early March.


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Singapore tourism drops 4.3 per cent, hotels take hit

Singapore - Tourist arrivals in Singapore fell 4.3 per cent in 2009 to 9.7 million, the city-state's tourism board said Tuesday. Hotels were hit hard as visitors stayed away due to the economic recession and the H1N1 flu outbreak. A strong rebound in the last quarter allowed for a "very credible" performance over the whole year, tourism board chief executive Aw Kah Peng said. Visitor arrivals for the month of December reached a record 971,000.

However, tourism receipts over the year were estimated at 12.4 billion Singapore dollars (8.7 billion US dollars), down 19 per cent from a year earlier, the board said.

Hotels were hit hard as the average room rate fell 22.3 per cent to 191 Singapore dollars. Average revenue per hotel room - including rooms that remained vacant - was down 26.6 per cent to 146 Singapore dollars in 2009.

Overall room revenue for Singapore's hotels in 2009 was 1.51 billion Singapore dollars, a slump of 28.3 per cent from a year earlier.

The tourism board is to present its forecast for 2010 in March, Aw said, adding that "we expect the growth momentum from the last quarter 2009 to continue."

Hopes are riding on two new multibillion-dollar casino resorts, designed to attract visitors from across the Asia-Pacific region, to restore the fortunes of Singapore's ailing tourism industry.

Resorts World Sentosa, which includes South-East Asia's first Universal Studios theme park, has already opened some of its hotels and received the gambling licence for its casino last weekend.

Marina Bay Sands, located in the heart of the financial district, is slated to open in April at the earliest.

Read more: http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/308233,singapore-tourism-drops-43-per-cent-hotels-take-hit.html#ixzz0fgfRcRMS


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Singapore Joins Outcry at Indonesian Tourist Visa Changes

A senior immigration department official said on Sunday that it would re-evaluate the government’s decision in January to scrap the one-week tourist visa, following an outcry by foreign tour agents who market packages for Batam and Bintan islands.

On January 25, the Ministry of Justice and Human Rights announced that the $10 visa on arrival for foreigners staying in Indonesia for a week or less would no longer be issued, and immigration officials would only issue a 30-day visa for $25.

But the issue has sparked such controversy in Singapore that on Sunday the Straits Times reported it was causing panic among travel agents there, and in Taiwan, who had already sold short-stay packages to Batam and Bintan islands in Riau and would have to pay the difference in price out of their own pockets.

“We’ve heard [a rumor] about a contract between Riau Governor [Ismeth Abdullah] and Singapore to pay only $10 for a visa on arrival, but this is a national policy and other areas such as Bali and Manado don’t seem to be bothered with this,” said Maroloan Barimbing, spokesman for the Justice Ministry’s Directorate General of Immigration.

“They even consider it to be a great opportunity for tourists to explore more sites in the country.”

Maroloan said the Directorate General for Immigration would now spend up to three months comparing arrival figures in Batam and Bintan for Singaporeans visiting Indonesia, expatriates working in Singapore coming to visit and foreign tourists stopping by for one or two days before continuing on to Singapore.

He said one solution for frequent visitors would be to buy a $100 multiple-entry tourist visa, which is already available.

Asad Shiraz, director of marketing for Bintan Resorts, who is based in Singapore, told the Straits Times that last year 90 percent of its 410,000 guests stayed less than a week and used the $10 visa.

Andrew Dixon, an owner of the Niko Island Resort off Bintan, told the Straits Times that many foreign visitors to Riau Islands only went there for a day to play golf. “It will increase the cost of a visit for a family of four by $60,” he said. “The weekend travel market is already price sensitive as it competes with Malaysia.

The Justice Ministry claimed scrapping the 7-day visa would encourage tourists to stay longer and curb graft among immigration officials who were issuing 7-day visas when asked for 30-day visas and pocketing the difference.

But tourism analysts decried the move, saying it would hurt visitor numbers, and even the Ministry of Culture and Tourism took the unusual step of publicly saying it would try to make immigration officials reconsider.

On Sunday, however, Surya Dharma, a Tourism Ministry spokesman, took a softer line, calling the reaction from tour operators and the Riau Islands government a “temporary shock.”

“This is a national policy, but, if we’re losing tourists from this policy, then the government will try to find a solution to work it out,” he said, “either reviewing the policy or making additional policies.”

But the Straits Times quoted an immigration official as saying that any reversion to 7-day visas would be only for up to a few months to ease the shock of their withdrawal.


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Singapore Tourism Emerges With Integrated Resorts

SINGAPORE — Singapore has been missing that "certain something" as a tourist destination. Now, finally, it may have the answer in two integrated casino-resorts-the recently opened US$4.4 billion Resorts World Sentosa (RWS) from Malaysian gaming giant Genting Group and the US$5.5 billion Marina Bay Sands (MBS) now slated for a late-April opening.

The Sands project reportedly was nearing default late last year, but Las Vegas Sands Corp. raised US$2.1 billion in a bond sale to complete the project.

The two resorts-with government regulations allotting less than 5% of their space for gaming-reflects an attempt to diversify Singapore's tourism base to compete more effectively with neighboring countries. But whether or not Singapore can compete with Macau or become the Las Vegas of Southeast Asia might depend on how consumers react to the expected imposition of restrictions in the form of a S$2,000 (US$1,440) annual fee or S$100 entry fee, as well as stringent rules for traditional gambling junkets to deter money laundering.

However, the two resorts are expected to contribute about 1% to 2% of Singapore's gross domestic product, help the country achieve visitor arrival goals of 17 million by 2015 (10 million in 2008) and eventually add 35,000 jobs to the economy. The government hopes to boost tourism earning to S$30 billion (US$21.5 billion) by 2015-tripling current figures.

While neither RWS nor MBS executives would offer any revenue projections, reports have MBS with net profits of between S$800 million and S$1 billion next year, with the smaller Sentosa project netting S$750 million. Analysts say 70% to 80% of revenues initially will come from gaming, sliding back to 50% to 60% once all the other attractions are open.

Robert Hecker, Singapore-based managing director for Horwath Asia Pacific, says the timing of these projects is right for the region's rebounding markets and will help drive incremental business to the rest of the market.

The Missing Link
RWS's four hotels-Festive Hotel, Hard Rock Hotel Singapore, Crockfords Tower and Hotel Michael-and shop outlets on Sentosa Island opened January 20, offering a combined inventory of 1,350 rooms and 10 restaurants. Another two hotels, Equarius Hotel and Spa Villas, will add another 500 rooms when they launch after 2010. Initial reports showed all four hotels fully booked with very limited availability in March and April. "Our first weekend that was opened to the public saw us hit more than 90% in room occupancy with Festive and Hard Rock Hotels fully booked," says Robin Goh, assistant director of communications.

The sprawling 49-ha (121-acre) resort designed by Michael Graves on an island a quarter-mile off the coast plans to open its casino February 14. The other main attraction—Southeast Asia's first Universal Studios theme park—is also expected to open within the first quarter. Built in less than three years, RWS is targeting a wider family-focused audience with its theme park and the world's largest marine life park, scheduled for 2011. In addition, RWS will also include 26 function rooms, a 1,600-seat theater and a destination spa. The strong F&B component, when fully operational, is expected to serve 25,000 to 30,000 meals a day, and 40,000 meals on weekends.

RWS Chief Executive Officer Tan Hee Teck has been quoted as saying he expects 60% of Sentosa visitors to be foreigners, of whom 20% to 25% would be from China. In addition, initial MICE business looks very positive, with 33 conferences booked so far this year, no doubt taking advantage of the 6,300-seat ballroom.

Hecker says having a branded theme park as well as integration of highly marketable attractions-as opposed to how disparate and non-integrated Sentosa has been in the past-makes it the "missing link" in Singapore's tourism offering. "Throw in the casinos to help ‘subsidize' such major tourist and visitor attractions and you have a clear win-win scenario. The only real issue I can foresee is access and crowd management, particularly for Resorts World."

Icon Status
With more than 1,300 team members already on board, MBS in late April will open the first phase, including nearly 1,000 hotel rooms, part of the shopping mall and convention center, the first three celebrity chef restaurants and other dining, as well as the casino, according to CEO and President Thomas Arasi. The second phase-which includes the Sands SkyPark sitting on the 57th story of the signature-curved three hotel towers, the Event Plaza along Marina Bay and more shops and restaurants-will open in the summer. Theaters and the museum will open later in the year.

"You can't beat the location of Marina Bay-prime city center for a convention-fueled destination," Hecker says. "It's iconic and will be perceived and realized as a must-visit property on an international level."

Arasi says the curves of the Marina Bay Sands hotel towers are "spectacular, both visually and from an engineering perspective." Those same towers have also been the source of engineering challenges, as has been reclaiming land from the sea for the 120,000-sq.-m (1.3 million-sq.-ft.) convention center, which has pushed back the opening to April.

The sloping towers and the straight legs were constructed as two separate buildings. "We used steel link trusses to connect the two structures at level 23 to form one building," Arasi says. "The link trusses helped to transfer the weight from the sloping legs to the stronger legs. We built one hotel floor every four days-an unprecedented feat for a project of this scale. The building is already an icon redefining the Singapore skyline."

The 7,000-tonne (15.4 million-pound) steel structure of the Sands SkyPark took 14 heavy lifts to place. "We have fitted out the hotel rooms up to about the 22nd floor, we are working on the interiors of the convention center and the casino, and we completed the chandelier in the casino. The event plaza along Marina Bay is almost complete. It's really exciting to see this come together," Arasi says.

To drive business, Arasi says MBS already has a strong lineup of events for the Sands Expo and Convention Centre that will bring more than 150,000 attendees to the integrated resort beginning this year. Among many events, the resort is hosting the 2010 UFI Congress, which is coming back to Singapore after a 15-year absence. "The diversity of trade shows and conferences in Marina Bay Sands is a strong sign of support for us and for Singapore," Arasi adds.

Arasi says his sales team is also working closely with the Singapore Tourism Board on joint marketing activities. "We have built up our sales network in China, Hong Kong, Japan, Korea, Thailand, India, as well as in Europe and the Americas," Arasi says. "In terms of geographical mix, we are targeting the markets of Southeast Asia, China, India, Middle East and Russia, as well as the U.S. and Europe."


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Singapore Opens 1st Casino in Bid to Become Tourist Hub

Singapore has opened its first casino, part of a campaign by the city-state to transform itself into a tourist hub and reduce its reliance on manufacturing.

The Resorts World Sentosa casino welcomed its first visitors Sunday, an auspicious date that coincides with the first day of the Lunar New Year.

The casino is part of a $4.7 billion complex built by Malaysia's Genting Group on Sentosa island, an islet linked to Singapore's main island by a bridge. The complex also houses a new Universal Studios movie theme park and high-end hotels.

Singapore is trying to broaden its appeal to tourists and become more of a services-based economy, while shifting away from manufacturing work that its Asian neighbors can do more cheaply.

Some Singaporeans have expressed concern that promoting gambling could undermine the city-state's values and encourage money-laundering.

The government has tried to address those concerns by imposing a $70 fee on Singaporeans entering the casino to try to dissuade them from becoming addicted. The fee does not apply to foreign visitors. Singapore also has banned anyone declared bankrupt from using the casino.

The city-state plans to open a second casino, built by U.S. company Las Vegas Sands, in the coming months. The government estimates the casinos will boost Singapore's gross domestic product growth by up to one percentage point in the coming years.


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Lucy Ong appointed as Tourism WA's Marketing Manager for Singapore & Malaysia

Tourism Western Australia’s marketing representation agency in Singapore and Malaysia, Xzodus, has appointed Ms Lucy Ong to the role of Marketing Manager – Singapore and Malaysia.

No stranger to the travel trade, Lucy was the Regional Marketing Manager – South East Asia for VisitBritain (formerly British Tourist Authority) for 11 years before leaving the industry in 2007 for a temporary family relocation to the USA.

During her time with Visit Britain, she played a key role in raising the profile of Britain through comprehensive joint marketing and training programs with the trade and media as well as undertaking research on the needs of the SE Asian travellers into Britain. She was also responsible for organising Destination Britain, a major trade event attracting over 200 Asia Pacific buyers and US sellers.

In addition, she played a key role in winning a Marketing award for the Singapore office for the Shop-Till-You-Drop campaign ran in conjunction with Maison de la France.

A graduate from the National University of Singapore in Business Administration, Lucy will be responsible for the overall management of TWA’s marketing activities in the Singapore and Malaysia markets. She joins the Xzodus team of Senior Consultants, Lee Ee Lian and Selena Oh, Marketing Executives Anne Chen (Singapore) and Jenny Chan (Malaysia), who work on the Tourism WA account.


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Singapore Tourism Report Q1 2010 - New Market Report Published

LONDON, ENGLAND

Singapore's tourism industry experienced a difficult H109 Visitor arrivals were down by 11.5%, to just 4.51mn in January-June. The Singapore Tourist Board (STB) attributed the poor performance primarily to the global economic crisis, but arrivals from North Asia were also reduced due to the effects of the H1N1 virus (swine flu) pandemic.

From the halfway point of the year, tourist arrivals resumed an upwards trend. In December 2009, the STB said visitor arrivals stood at 8.71mn for January-November. Strong increases were recorded in arrivals from Indonesia, Malaysia and China over October and November. That said, we believe the most likely outcome for the year as a whole is a slight fall in arrivals from 2008's 10.12mn arrivals, mainly as a result of the very poor first half.

...But The Longer-Term Prognosis Remains Positive
Although 2009 was difficult for the Singaporean tourism industry, there are reasons to be positive about the medium-to-long term as the global economy recovers. In particular, the opening of the two integrated resorts, at Marina Bay and Sentosa, in 2010 should help the island attract new tourists. Also in 2010, Singapore will host the first Youth Olympics and open the International Cruise Terminal.

Tiger Airways Announces IPO

In January 2010, Singapore's Tiger Airways unveiled its long awaited initial public offering (IPO) of stock in the company. The airline hopes to raise SGD273mn via the IPO, which it will use to fund aircraft purchases and pay down debt.

Some media reports said Tiger Airways had initially hoped to raise more money via the IPO, but an uncertain outlook for global investment markets and the challenging outlook for the airline industry may have both played a part in the downsizing of the offer.

Integrated Resorts

Opening Soon Four of the new hotels at the Sentosa integrated resort - Maxims Tower, Hotel Michael, Festive Hotel and the Hard Rock Hotel Singapore -start phased opening in late January 2010. The other two hotels at the resort are the Equarius Hotel and Spa Villas. Bookings for the hotels opened in H209. Other attractions at Sentosa will include a Universal Studios theme park, a casino and the world's largest oceanarium. We believe Sentosa and other new resorts will do much to significantly boost Singapore's tourism industry from 2010 onwards. We expect to report on the opening of the resort and its prospects in Q210.


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Attractions —Lim Sue Goan

JAN 21 — It was a good day for Singapore when thousands of guests flocked to the Lion City on Jan 20. On the contrary, no one came to Johor Bahru, or even the whole of Malaysia.

When the United States issued a travel warning about possible terror threats in Sabah, Resorts World Sentosa, Singapore’s first casino-resort, opened four hotels at 8.18am and the over 5,000 rooms were fully booked on the first night. Its prosperity was conceivable.

After the opening of the casino and the Universal Studios theme park, Singapore is expected to attract 13 million tourists annually. In addition to Resorts World Sentosa, The Marina Bay Sands, built by Las Vegas Sands, will also be opened in April this year. After the opening of the two integrated resorts, Singapore may achieve the goal of attracting 17 million of tourists yearly in 2015.

When they have their own casinos, will Singaporean gamblers still travel along the way to Genting Highlands? Tourists from China are very likely to shift their targets, too. I’m afraid that businesses in Johor Bahru would as well be affected.

What countermeasures will Malaysia take to meet Singapore’s measures to attract tourists? Other than the theme parks, including Legoland Malaysia, in the Iskandar Special Economic Zone, Malaysia does not seem to have other new tourist attractions. Legoland is scheduled to be completed and opened to the public in April 2012 while the indoor theme park will be opened in 2013.

The Tourism Ministry should introduce new tourism packages in this two-year time before the theme parks are opened to the public to attract foreign tourists to come over on their way to Singapore’s casinos and theme parks.

The competition in the tourism industry will become more intense in the future. For example, South Korea recently announced to spend about US$3 billion (RM10.2 billion) to build the largest theme park in Asia, which covers 435 hectares. In addition to a Universal Studios theme park, there will be a water park, golf courses and resorts. It is expected to be opened in 2014 and it targets rich tourists from China. The government should wake up now as it can no longer indulge in last year’s statistics, which indicated a 7.6 per cent increase of tourist arrivals.

From Singapore’s tourism strategy, we can see the determination and vision of the Singapore government to actively revive and diversify its economy, as well as to look for new growth areas. We cannot help but worry over the Malaysian economy that has turned into dead waters.

After it separated from Malaysia, Singapore developed into a port and subsequently, it developed its financial and services industries, pharmaceutical industry, casinos and integrated resorts. This has fully reflected its pragmatism and flexibility. Malaysia is lagging far behind.

Since independence, Malaysia has always been relying on petroleum and palm oil. It does not succeed in developing multimedia information technology while its services industry is not open enough. It loses talents and fails to attract more foreign investors. When would the economy be transformed?

Today, Genting Bhd has transferred its capital and talents to Singapore and at the same time, it aims for investment opportunities in the United States. But Malaysian politicians are still quarreling over the issue of selling sand to Singapore. Why can’t they sit down and study how should they face the challenges from Singapore?

The outside world has been rapidly changing but we are still fighting over the “Allah” controversy. If our mindset remains unchanged, there will be no transformation for the country, the government, as well as the economy.


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