Considered one of the most expensive countries in the world, Singapore is seemingly a hot favourite among Indian tourists.
Singapore recorded a 115% increase in number of visitors in 2023 at 13.6 million from 6.3 million during the COVID-hit 2022.?The number of tourists in 2023 met the Singapore Tourism Board's (STB) forecast of between 12 million and 14 million visitors.
This is about 71 percent of the number in 2019 before international travel came to a halt in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Channel News Asia reported, citing data from the STB.
The visitors majorly belonged to Singapore¡¯s neighbouring and traditional visitor-generating markets - Indonesia (2.3 million), China (1.4 Million) and Malaysia (1.1 Million).?The fourth tourism-generating market was Australia which is nearly at par with India.?
Singapore¡¯s tourism revenue is expected to be between Rs 1,51,000 crores - Rs 1,60,000 crores for 2023.??This is about 88 to 94 per cent of 2019 levels, according to figures released by STB.
STB also said visitors spent more time in Singapore in comparison to the pre-pandemic days.?
The average length of stay in 2023 was approximately 3.8 days, an increase compared to 3.4 days for the same period in 2019.
The average room rate stands at Rs 17,500 as compared to 2019¡¯s Rs 14,000.?
¡°Singapore¡¯s tourism sector recovered strongly and demonstrated resilience with a solid performance for 2023,¡± STB said.
As for 2024, international visitor arrivals are expected to reach around 15 to 16 million.?
(with agency inputs)