Hotels in Singapore are retaining a mood of optimism about year-end sales, despite visitor arrivals to the country falling for the fourth successive month. ChannelNews Asia has reported that arrivals to Singapore fell 4.1% in September, despite the influx of visitors seen during the inaugural Singapore Grand Prix.
Hoteliers however, remain confident that their fortunes will recover, with Singapore’s festive season and corporate year-end events propping up the figures.
Chief Executive Officer of the Tourism Management Institute of Singapore, H P Loi, said; “When I spoke to some of the hoteliers, some of the bookings are done in advance. So for the next three months, I think it will be okay. But it is really after the Chinese New Year, then you begin to see the real picture.”
Meanwhile a spokesperson from Accor told ChannelNews Asia that it expects occupancy to fall between 5-10% in late 2008 and early 2009.
Visitor arrivals to Singapore reached just 739,000 in September, despite a 30.3% surge in arrivals for the from 25-27 September Formula One event. The Singapore Tourism Board (STB) blamed the results on the global economic environment and state of the tourism industry.
“With the current global economic climate, there is now a general air of uncertainty which has impacted consumer sentiments and discretionary spending. Visitor arrivals and tourism receipts are expected to fall short of the 2008 targets,” an STB statement said.
Despite the visitor slump however the STB said that its hotels were estimated to have generated SG$186 million (US$124 million) in room revenue during September, a growth of 26.3% compared to September 2007.
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