OCTOBER marked yet another dismal month for tourism, as arrivals dipped year-on-year for the fifth consecutive month, according to official figures released yesterday.
Singapore Tourism Board (STB) statistics show that 843,000 travellers visited the country last month, an 8 per cent drop over the same period last year.
PLANNING AHEAD
'Now is a time when we must all sit down together to discuss how to weather the storm.'
The figure was the single biggest monthly tumble since arrivals started falling in June.
The downturn, driven by the global economic crisis, has hit the hotel industry especially hard, with the sector's estimated revenues declining for the first time since February 2005.
The decline in travellers was especially pronounced among visitors from Indonesia, China and Malaysia, Singapore's top tourist markets. But five countries - Australia, India, Vietnam, Germany and the Philippines - bucked the trend, as more of their citizens came here than last year.
In a media release, the STB blamed the global economic downturn for the tourism slowdown, saying it has dampened consumer sentiment and cut into discretionary spending.
Travel agents also said high fuel surcharges and unfavourable exchange rates have hit markets like Indonesia hard.
The STB announced earlier that Singapore will fall short of tourism targets for this year, which included 10.8 million visitors and $15.5 billion in spending.
Singapore hotels, which had been riding high on the tourism boom, filling their rooms and increasing rates, have been hammered by the drop in visitors.
For the first time in almost three years, estimated hotel revenue declined in October, compared to the same period last year. Last month, Singapore hotels raked in about $178 million in room revenues, down 0.3 per cent compared with October last year.
Average room rates increased about 8 per cent from last year to reach just over $240 a night, putting them near the middle of the pack among Asia's biggest cities. But the average occupancy rate dropped about 7 percentage points to 82 per cent.
'It is a matter of time before revenue is hit with fewer tourists coming and lower occupancies,' said Mr Kellvin Ong, general manager of the Rendezvous Hotel in Bras Basah Road.
Hotels across the island have been forced to slash their rates, some by as much as 30 per cent.
If October was bad, November and December are not looking much better, according to hoteliers.
The industry is looking anxiously towards the first three months of next year, which will likely set the standard for the rest of the year.
The National Association of Travel Agents Singapore (Natas) and the Association of Singapore Attractions have begun discussing the game plan for next year. Reducing the prices of local attractions and cutting hotel room rates could be solutions to declining visitor numbers, said Natas chief executive officer Robert Khoo.
'Now is a time when we must all sit down together to discuss how to weather the storm,' he said.
