Inside Asian Gaming

INSIDE ASIAN GAMING | April 2010 28 T he Singapore government’s rationale for introducing casinos to the city-state is well publicised and very clearly targeted. It wants to increase annual tourism to 17 million arrivals, compared to the 10.1million recorded in 2008. It alsowants to double annual receipts from tourism to S$30 billion by 2015, compared to the S$15.2 billion achieved in 2008. ‘International inbound tourism receipts’ are defined by the United Nations World Tourism Organization as “expenditure of international inbound visitors, including their payments to national carriers for international transport”. That definition includes local taxes. In Singapore’s case, that’s not only a 7%Goods and Services Tax on retail sales such as hotel rooms and restaurant meals, but also gaming tax and GST on any gambling they do in the city’s new casinos. When Lim Hng Kiang, Singapore’s Minister for Trade & Industry, first spoke publicly on the tourism revenue issue in April 2005, he avoided mentioning the potential gains from gaming tax. Instead, he stressed the need to reverse the declining contribution of tourism to the city-state’s gross domestic product and the need to support the city’s meetings, incentives, conventions and exhibitions (MICE) market. “Tourism has always been an important sector for the Singapore economy and not simply for the tourism receipts that visitors generate. The more attractive we are as a tourism destination, the easier it is for us to develop our convention and exhibition industry, and grow as an aviation hub,” stated Mr Lim. Singapore’s main fix for its tourism ‘problem’ is two new casino resorts. There are other, seasonal fixes, including the reintroduction in 2008 of the Singapore Grand Prix to the Formula One season. The race, held in the Marina Bay area, also has the novelty of being F1’s first regular night race. That, in its turn, virtually guarantees that many spectators book into hotels overnight. It’s clever stuff from the Singapore authorities. Pricey admission Meanwhile, back on the Asian casino circuit, Malaysia’s Genting Group and its consortium partners and Las Vegas Sands Corp have Hard Luck Hotel Can Singapore really cater for 80,000 conference visitors at its casino resorts? 2015 Targets Indicator 2004 2015 Target Tourism Receipts (S$ billion) 10 30 Visitors Arrivals (million) 8 17 Tourism Employment 150,000 250,000 Source: Singapore Tourism Board