Singapore tourism plummets further in May

Singapore - Singapore's ailing tourism industry plummeted further in May as hotel room revenue fell a heavy 37.7 per cent compared to a year earlier and the number of visitor arrivals was back to a double-digit decline, the Singapore Tourism Board said Friday.

In May, hotel room revenue in the city-state reached an estimated 112 million Singapore dollars (77 million US dollars), down from 180 million Singapore dollars a year ago.

Total visitor arrivals came up to 730,000, a decline of 13 per cent compared to May 2008.

In April the number of visitor arrivals shrank just 6.1 per cent following three months of double-digit slumps, raising hopes that the worst might be over for Singapore's tourism sector, which has been hit hard by the global economic downturn.

But the board said tourist numbers from Asian markets like China, Japan and South Korea fell sharply in May, attributing the decline in part to the global outbreak of the H1N1 swine flu virus.

Singapore confirmed 95 new cases of H1N1 Thursday, bringing the total number to 315.

Among Singapore's top 15 tourist markets only Vietnam, Malaysia and the Philippines posted growth in May, due to 'aggressive airline and marketing promotions,' the board said.

Hotel business continued to drop with an average room occupancy rate reaching 69 per cent in May, a fall of 12.2 percentage points compared to a year ago.

The average room rate reached an estimated 184 Singapore dollars, down 25.4 per cent from May 2008, the board said. dpa kpo se 260829 GMT Jun 09 Sent via WebAccess by Portmann MEZ 26-06-2009_10:44

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