SINGAPORE — Visitor arrivals to the Republic last year hit a record high that far exceeded targets, while preliminary estimates of tourism spending showed a modest increase.

In its Year-In-Review for 2018 released on Wednesday (Feb 13), the Singapore Tourism Board (STB) said total visitor arrivals for 2018 hit 18.5 million, up 6.2 per cent from 2017.

This was driven by double-digit growth in visitor arrivals from India, USA, Vietnam and the United Kingdom.

Meanwhile, preliminary estimates for tourism receipts (TR) for last year showed a 1 per cent increase from 2017 to S$27.1 billion, as a drop in shopping, accommodation, and food and beverage spending was offset by higher spending in sightseeing, entertainment and gaming.

This is the third consecutive year of strong growth for the tourism sector, the STB said.

A CLOSER LOOK AT TOURISM SPENDING IN 2018

• 22 per cent of overall spending was on sightseeing, entertainment and gaming

• 20 per cent on shopping

• 21 per cent on accommodation

• 9 per cent on food and beverage

• 28 per cent on other TR components, such as airfares on Singapore-based carriers, local transportation and medical expenditure

Spending on sightseeing, entertainment and gaming rose 6 per cent last year from 2017, while spending on other TR components increased by 21 per cent.

But spending fell in three categories: Shopping was down 14 per cent, accommodation dropped 5 per cent and food and beverage slipped 4 per cent.

Tourists spent less on souvenir and gifts, and had shorter lengths of stay in Singapore.

The top spenders between January and September last year came from:

• China (S$3.1 billion)

• Indonesia (S$2.1 billion)

• India (S$1.3 billion)

STB chief executive Keith Tan said: “The 1 per cent growth in TR is not trivial; it still means we have a record high for tourism receipts here in Singapore.

“But it does mean that people on average are spending a little less when they come to Singapore.”

To boost tourist spending, the STB will be working with cruise lines, travel agents and airlines to switch more tourists from “daytrippers into overnighters, people who spend one or two nights in Singapore”, Mr Tan said.

This would thus help to increase spending on accommodation and help boost overall receipts, he noted.

2018 HIGHLIGHTS

Crazy Rich Asians fever: STB noted that organic search interest in Singapore on Google increased in the United States by more than three times during the movie's release last August.

STB also saw over 527 million earned media impressions after the movie, which it helped to co-market.

Trump-Kim Summit: The historic summit between United States President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un in June 2018 helped to showcase Singapore as a destination of choice for business events, STB said. Media coverage of the summit received more than 2.36 billion views and there were about 8,000 pieces of online content mentioning Singapore in the headlines. A day before the summit, the phrase "Where is Singapore?" was searched over 2 million times by Google users in the US.

China reigns supreme again: For the second year running, China was Singapore’s top visitor source market in 2018. Some 3.4 million Chinese tourists visited Singapore, representing a 6 per cent increase from 2017. However, the STB is forecasting slower growth from the Chinese market this year, following a slowdown in visitor arrivals from China in the last two months of last year. 

Japan’s revitalisation: STB saw record visitor arrival numbers from Japan, a mature market, last year. For the first three quarters of last year, Japanese visitors spent S$820 million, 9 per cent higher than in the same period the year before.

2019 TARGETS

• Visitor arrival targets: 18.7 million to 19.2 million (up 1 to 4 per cent from 2018)

• TR targets: S$27.3 billion to S$27.9 billion (up 1 to 3 per cent from 2018)

Asia-Pacific tourism is growing, with increased air connectivity, the STB noted. However, challenges remain, such as geopolitical risks, which could result in a slowdown in China visitor arrivals, an uncertain global economic outlook and regional competition.

STB SAYS

“We are pleased that Singapore’s tourism sector performed well in 2018 despite some economic uncertainties. We were fortunate to have benefited from a confluence of positive factors such as strong Asia-Pacific travel demand, increased flight connectivity to Singapore and various high-profile events,” said Mr Tan.

“There is the possibility of slowdowns and declines (in the years ahead). But we look at overall growth factors for Singapore, we look at the regional economic trends, and we think that we would still be accurate to say that there should still be some growth for visitor arrivals and TR for 2019.”