Tourism Breaking News
At a special gathering hosted by Singapore tourism board and Singapore Airlines recently it was shared by GB Srithar – Regional Director, India, Middle East & South Asia – Singapore Tourism Board that international visitor numbers had exceeded their own forecast. Srithar shared, “I’m happy to say that Singapore tourism board remains engaged in this market. Singapore international visitor numbers reached 6.3 million in 2022, which is 33% of 2019, exceeding our own forecast of last year, which was between 4 to 6million. So at 6.3 million we have exceeded out own forecast. Tourism receipts estimated to have reached 13.8 to 14.3 billion dollars which is above 50 to 52% of 2019 TR. Looking at Middle East market, overall GCC, we welcomed 79,630 which is about 61% of 2019’s IVA and UAE specifically we welcomed 42,970 which is about 35% of 2019 IVA so those are the numbers and the peak months have been July and August last year which registered very strong visitor arrivals and the average length of stay was about 3 to 5 days. In terms of importance of the market, UAE is our number one source market in the region.”
He further reiterated, “We continue to welcome visitors from the Middle East, the good thing is that Singapore is very much open, it is quarantine free and you can come to the country and moving around in various places like in Dubai is the same as before. My key overarching message is that Singapore is not only welcoming leisure travellers, as Singapore continues to be a family holiday destination, the Middle East travellers when they come to Singapore learn that its very easy to enjoy in terms of experiences and it’s a different kind of feel. With the diverse culture Singapore has there is much to be enjoyed by the visitors and lots of places have been spruced up. It is not only the big attractions in the past but more are coming up very soon to provide those diverse experiences. What we have noticed during this post covid travellers look for authentic experiences from the destination. “
Renjie Wong Area Director, India, Middle East & South Asia shared, “Singapore is constantly changing and opening up the Museum of ice cream in Singapore, the first outside of the United States of America is now a tourist attraction which opened in the middle of the pandemic. It is an exhibit-based attraction set in one of the most historical places in Singapore Dempsey Hill, its one of the examples which puts Singapore in the map. The only Avatar experience in the world is at the Cloud forest in Gardens by the bay Singapore.”
Aswin K, General Manager Singapore Airlines, reaffirmed, “ As you know last year has been an exciting year for all of us. Srithar was mentioning about the in-visitor arrivals and I’m happy to share that Singapore Airlines had a major play in that as well as we have been really active in this space and we have been increasing the capacity a lot, so as back of December 2022, we are back at 75% as you know China was a major market for us and within the next few months we hope to see a spike up.”
