Singapore visitor arrivals, hotel performance pick up in July

VISITOR arrivals to Singapore rose to 18,520 in July, the highest since April, while hotel performance also improved, Singapore Tourism Board figures showed on Monday.

Visitor arrivals in July were up from 10,030 in June, and more than two-and-a-half times the 6,840 figure a year ago - though of course still a far cry from the pre-pandemic level of 1.8 million in July 2019.

"The increase is encouraging but the visitor arrivals remain far below pre-pandemic levels," said Maybank Kim Eng economist Chua Hak Bin,

"Visitor arrivals should continue rising with the relaxation of border controls with full vaccination having crossed 80 per cent," he added. "More quarantine-free travel corridors like the one with Germany will help lift the number of visitors."

The Vaccinated Travel Lane scheme is set to begin on Sept 8, allowing fully-vaccinated travellers arriving from Germany and Brunei to enter Singapore without having to serve a stay-home notice.

The vast majority of visitors in July continued to be from mainland China, with 12,670 such arrivals, up from 6,900 in June. At a distant second was Hong Kong, with 750 arrivals, and the United States with 685.

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STB's arrival figures exclude returning citizens and permanent residents and pass holders, Malaysians arriving by land, non-resident air and sea crew, and air transit passengers.

Hotel performance improved in July, with revenue per available room rising to S$87.50, the highest amount this year. This was up from S$75.40 in June, and 57.6 per cent more than the year-ago figure - though still less than half the pre-pandemic figure of S$205.33 in July 2019.

July's average room rate was S$170.90, up from S$143.70 in June. Occupancy dipped slightly to 51 per cent, from 52 per cent the month before, as available room nights grew to 868,490, up from 852,390.

A combination of increased arrivals, staycations, and fewer hotels being used for stay-home notices has allowed the daily rate to bounce back, said Govinda Singh, Colliers' executive director for hospitality and leisure, Asia. "We would expect to continue to fluctuate over the year as restrictions continue to evolve," he added.

JLL Hotels & Hospitality head of transaction advisory services Calvin Li noted that the increase in average daily rate has been driven by higher rates in the luxury and upscale segments.

"This is most likely driven by the recovery of staycation demand as residents became more comfortable with the latest lockdown," he said.

But it is unclear whether or not the higher rate will last, as staycation demand depends on the timing of school holidays, public holidays, and so on, he added.