Singapore to revise tourism figures - Business Travel

Business Asia, July, 2003

Singapore, which suffered its worst tourism slump following the outbreak of SARS and the Iraq war, said it would review its target of doubling tourists and the amount they spend over the next decade.

The target was set after a recommendation by a Government-appointed panel in September for Singapore to push the number of tourists to 15 million by 2012 and the amount they spend to S$20 billion ($16.7 billion) a year by that time from S$9.4 billion.

Severe acute respiratory syndrome, or SARS, infected 206 people in the city and Singapore was ranked as the most affected market after China and Hong Kong at the time. Singapore Airlines and other carriers cut flights after visitors avoided the city and as many as nine in 10 hotel rooms were left empty. The number of visitors plunged by about two-thirds in April and May.

"The target obviously is something to be re-looked at with a big drop in numbers," Lim Neo Chian, Singapore Tourism Board's deputy chairman and chief executive, said. "We've not concluded it's something that cannot be done, but it's a target that needs to be reviewed given what has happened over the last three months."

The island-state was cleared from a World Health Organization SARS watch list and said visitors have increased 47 per cent in June from May. For the year, it expects six million tourists, a fifth lower than 2002's 7.6 million visitors. Lim said he expects tourist arrivals to return to pre-SARS level by as early as the start of 2004.

Pre-SARS level

"We'd get near to the 7.6 million figure if by early next year, the numbers get back to pre-SARS level," Lim said. "We're not out of the woods but I see the strong growth continuing."

Singapore counts on tourism for six per cent of its US$88 billion ($128.9 billion) economy. The SARS outbreak led the city to cut its maximum economic growth forecast by half to 2.5 per cent.

New attractions in the next six to 12 months include spa and hotel projects in Sentosa, the entertainment island resort 10-minutes drive from the city's downtown, Lim said. A theme park is also being planned on the island.

Singapore's also hoping to draw visitors with appearances by Latino pop singer Ricky Martin and a "Bollywood Extravaganza" at the end of the year with Indian film stars, Lim said.

Last month, the city said a S$200 million giant ferris wheel similar to the London Eye will be built, marking the largest foreign investment in Singapore's tourism market.