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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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

Wildlife Reserves Singapore looks at aggressively promoting itself in the Indian market

Wildlife Reserves Singapore (WRS) which owns and operates Jorong BirdPark, Night Safari and Singapore Zoo is now promoting itself in the Indian market to increase Indian visitor arrivals. WRS is currently working closely with Singapore Tourism Board (STB) in India and is expanding its sales team operations in the country. It will soon undertake marketing and promotional efforts in India and also develop more programmes and menus catering to the Indian travellers needs.

Talking about the potential of Indian market, Isabel Cheng, Director – Sales, Marketing and Communications, Wildlife Reserves Singapore (WRS) said, “Being a part of the Brazil, Russia, India and China (BRIC) sector poised for immense growth, India will become more affluent and Singapore will be a key destination. Based on the data we have, the Indian market is important for us and we look forward to increasing numbers by creating top of mind recall and awareness of WRS among Indian travellers.” Cheng added, “Our sales team has started making forays into the Indian market and it has definitely paid dividends, as Indian visitors already make up about 20 per cent of all arrivals to all the three zoos. We will dedicate more resources to build the Indian market and will work even more closely with the Singapore Tourism Board in India to reach more Indian visitors.”

The Jurong Bird Park is dedicated to more than 600 species of birds numbering 8,000 and received nine lakh visitors last year. Night Safari is an internationally acclaimed world's first wildlife park for nocturnal animals and received 1.1 million visitors last year. The Singapore Zoo is home to over 2,500 creatures of 315 species, and is world famous for its 'open concept.' It received 1.6 million visitors from across the globe in 2008. Cheng said, “We hope that Indian visitors will be able to make a trip to all three parks which are thematically different from each other. Currently, at Jorong Bird Park and the Night Safari, Indian visitors are in our top tourist profiles.”

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