SG sees drop in tourism receipts across all categories, accommodation hardest hit

Tourism receipts declined by 4.8% in Singapore in the first quarter of 2019 (Q1 2019) at SG$6.5 billion compared to the same period last year. This is driven by a drop in spending across all categories accommodation, shopping, food and beverage as well as sightseeing, entertainment and gaming (SEG).Of the top 10 markets, Indonesia (SG$732 million) was among the top three, contributing to 43% of tourism receipts, excluding SEG, alongside China and India. Notably, Indonesia also registered the second highest absolute year-on-year growth in tourism receipts at 7%, following behind just the United States (15%). In terms of international visitor-generating markets, Indonesia was ranked second with about 725,000 visitors in Q1 2019.On the other hand, tourism receipts from Malaysia recorded the sharpest decline of 34% compared to the same period last year, contributing SG$155 million. This is despite Malaysia being ranked fourth in terms of Singapore’s top five international visitor-generating markets, with about 283,000 visitors during Q1 2019. Overall, international visitor arrivals grew 1% year-on-year to reach 4.7 million visitors, with China, Indonesia, India, Malaysia and Australia accounting for 54% of total international visitor arrivals.Accommodation spending fell the sharpest by 12% to SG$1,256 million, according to the Singapore Tourism Board’s quarterly tourism sector performance report. Shopping and food (SG$1,371 million) and beverage (SG$588 million) both registered a 7% decline. Meanwhile, spend in SEG category dropped by 3%, recording SG$1,457 million.Despite the decrease in accommodation spending, gazetted hotel room revenue for the first quarter came in at an estimated SG$1.0 billion, registering a growth of 4.3% year-on-year. Average occupancy rate was at 86%, a 0.6 percentage point marginal decrease compared to the same quarter last year. Average room rate grew by 1% to SG$222 and revenue per available room held steady at 0.3% year-on-year to SG$189. The luxury category is the only one which saw growth across the board.