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Stockwatch- CK Tang, Strong tourist arrivals shd be beneficial to the retail industry......

Strong tourist arrivals shd be beneficial to the retail industry......

http://app.stb.com.sg/asp/new/new03a.asp?id=5703

Record highs and strong growth in the tourism sector expected in 2006 Singapore, 31 August 2006 – Singapore’s tourism industry hit record highs this July for monthly visitor arrivals and Average Occupancy Rates. Reviewing its half-year progress, the Singapore Tourism Board projects the industry will see historical highs for annual visitor arrivals compared to last year.

“The first half of 2006 has been very positive for the tourism industry. Each month this year has shown a record number of visitor arrivals over the same months in previous years. The People’s Republic of China, South Korea and the Philippines have consistently shown high visitor arrival growth over the same period last year thanks to successful marketing efforts and attractive carrier deals,” said Mr Lim Neo Chian, Chief Executive and Deputy Chairman of the STB. In July, the tourism industry not only broke the 900,000 barrier, setting a record of 913,000 visitor arrivals, but also saw Average Occupancy Rates reaching a record high of 91% and Average Room Rates increasing by 18.7% over July 2005 to S$160. “Due in part to school holidays and the Great Singapore Sale, July’s figures exceeded all historical monthly records for visitor arrivals in Singapore and Average Occupancy Rates. The higher room and occupancy rates we have enjoyed this year will certainly give confidence to hotel investors who want to develop hotels in Singapore,” said Mr Lim.

The STB set annual targets for 2006 visitor arrivals at 9.4 million and tourism receipts at S$12 billion. The Board is confident the visitor arrival targets will be met, due to potentially higher visitor arrivals in the school holiday months of July, August and December and the Singapore 2006 meetings in September, which include the International Monetary Fund and World Bank Group Boards of Governors Annual Meetings. “From January to June this year we welcomed 4.7 million visitors – this is 11.8% growth over the same period last year. We expect to meet our 2006 visitor arrivals target, and if we do, it will be another historical high for annual visitor arrivals,” said Mr Lim. There were 8.9 million visitor arrivals recorded in 2005 and 8.3 million in 2004. Higher visitor arrivals in the first half of 2006 resulted in higher visitor days – visitor days for January to June 2006 were estimated at 15.7 million, showing an 8.5% increase over the same period last year. Tourism receipts are also higher than last year. They hit S$5.5 billion in the first half of 2006, representing a 5.2% increase over January to June 2005.

Commenting on whether tourism receipts would be on target by the end of 2006, Mr Lim said: “The average length of stay for January to June 2006 was slightly lower than the same period in 2005 and this might pose some challenges to achieving our target for tourism receipts. Much will depend on the second half of the year, which we expect to perform better than the first half. We will likely end the year with higher tourism receipts than last year.” - End -

posted by gsg @ 4:41 PM