Last month, some 780,000 foreigners visited Singapore, representing a 6.1 per cent decline from a year ago.

Singapore Tourism Board, in its monthly update released on Tuesday, said: 'April 2009 recorded a smaller decline... compared to the double-digit decline in visitor arrivals seen in the past three months.'

The number of days the tourists stayed also fell to 3.2 million days, a drop of 3.3 per cent from April last year. On the plus side, key markets like Hong Kong, Philippines, Vietnam and Germany saw double digit growth - for the first time in months.

Hong Kong visitors swelled 41.3 per cent, while those from the Philippines and Vietnam both increased by 13.4 per cent. German tourists also went up by 12.4 per cent.

STB attributes the increase to the April Easter holiday which fell on a long weekend. The picture for the rest of the tourism market was still grim.

Hotel average occupancy rate fell 11.9 percentage point to 71 per cent. Hotel room occupancy also rose to a high of 60 per cent or low 70 per cent in the last five months, something not seen since 2003.

Average hotel room rate also plunged 27.4 per cent to hit $186, the lowest registered since tourist arrivals started falling last year. Hotel room revenue plunged a steep 40.2 per cent from a year ago to $110 million.

This was also the lowest registered in the last two years. The last time hotel room revenue was in the $110 million range was in 2006.

To combat the decline, STB has rolled out a $90 million plan to help the industry weather the economic storm. The package includes special marketing campaigns and attractively-priced tour packages to key markets.