Rebound from tepid year in the works

Europeans seen returning; STB preliminary data for Jan-to-Aug 2014 puts visitor arrivals at 10.28m, down 3.3%

Nisha Ramchandani

Published Fri, Dec 26, 2014 · 09:50 PM

Singapore

SINGAPORE could well miss its visitor arrivals target in 2014, but the new year may bring a stronger performance for the tourism industry.

The plunge in the number of travellers from China - one of Singapore's biggest source markets - after the disappearance of Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370 has been a major factor contributing to the drop in tourist volumes this year.

Travel demand was also hurt by China's internal implementation of tourism laws in October 2013 to clamp down on its people going on "zero-dollar" tours - cheap tour packages that include surprise fees these travellers were not told about upfront.

The Singapore Tourism Board's (STB) preliminary estimates put visitor arrivals for the eight months between January and August at 10.28 million, down 3.3 per cent year on year. In comparison, visitor arrivals in Singapore ha…