Tourist arrivals, spend pick up pace in first half of 2016

TOURISM arrivals and spend both expanded in the double digits in the first half of this year, according to a report by the Singapore Tourism Board (STB).

Arrivals rose 13 per cent year on year to 8.2 million, bolstered by a 55 per cent jump in visitors from China. Meanwhile, tourism receipts increased 12 per cent to S$11.6 billion. "The strong growth in 1H16 tourism receipts was on the back of higher expenditure in shopping, accommodation and food & beverage," said STB. "This helped to offset the fall in sightseeing, entertainment and gaming that was due largely to a decline in gaming revenue."

For the second quarter alone, arrivals were up 11 per cent to four million visitors, while tourism receipts leapt by 20 per cent to S$6.1 billion.

In the hotel sector, room revenue was estimated at S$1.6 billion in 1H16, said the STB, translating to 3.2 per cent in growth. While average occupancy rate edged up 0.7 percentage point to 84 per cent, revenue per available room (RevPAR) slipped 2.4 per cent to S$197. This was due to a 3.2 per cent slide in average room rate to S$235 for 1H16.