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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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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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.


Source

New GM at Singapore Airlines

Singapore Airlines the world's premier airline, has appointed Mr. Melvin NG as the General Manager for Sri Lanka. Mr. Melvin NG joined Singapore Airlines in the year 2002, and was involved in the Head Office Sales and Marketing Division for a period of five years. Later he was posted to the Singapore Airlines regional office located in Beijing, where he provided his services as the Regional Marketing Manager. He later served as the Manager for Northern China also in Beijing for a short period before being posted to Singapore Airlines in Colombo as the General Manager for Sri Lanka.

When asked as to how he plans to promote Sri Lanka, through Singapore Airlines Mr. Melvin said, "Sri Lanka is still a relatively unknown and unexplored destination amongst a majority of the international general public. However Sri Lanka is well known to many of the experienced international travelers mostly due to its scenic beauty and popular destinations. We have been working on promoting inbound tourism, focusing on markets such as China, Hong Kong, Taipei, Australia."

According to Mr. Melvin the travel industry in Sri Lanka in the future will be experiencing good times ahead with peace finally dawning and the environment becoming more conducive for international travel. This will also greatly benefit and boost the country's inbound travel industry as Sri Lanka has unlimited resources that have yet been untapped with regards to tourism and Singapore Airlines is currently working closely with the Sri Lankan Tourist Board in this regard. Outbound travel too is expected to increase significantly with effect from next year and many companies which cutback on their expenses due to the economic recession and the country's ongoing war are now optimistic that major industrial improvements will take place and that the travel industry will be in the forefront of many of these developments.

Speaking on their future plans Mr. Melvin said, "With the very much anticipated boom in tourism, we plan to reinstate daily frequency between Colombo and Singapore from the current 5x weekly flights, in April next year."


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