THE STRAITS TIMES
THE tourism sector is booming, the Singapore Tourism Board (STB) said on Wednesday, announcing that tourism receipts had leapt to $13.7 billion in January to September this year.
Higher per capita spending, strong visitor arrivals, as well as spending at the Integrated Resorts (IRs) contributed to the 47 per cent year-on-year growth.
The STB said it was optimistic that the full-year tourism receipts for 2010 will fall within the forecast range of $17.5 to $18.5 billion.
Visitor arrivals to Singapore registered 15.8 per cent growth to reach 978,000 in October 2010, the highest number of arrivals recorded for the month of October. It also marks the 11th consecutive month of record visitor arrivals.
Indonesians, Indian and Chinese nationals spent the most in Singapore, mainly due to shopping and for Indonesians, health-care related expenditure.
The average occupancy rates of hotels here posted a 4.3 per cent point increase over October 2009 to reach 86 per cent in October 2010.