Melo Villareal
Lion City: Tourist Arrivals From the Philippines to Singapore Reach Record Highs
Singapore is one of the most favorite get-away and vacation destinations of many Filipinos. Since the Lion City is just four hours away, many of us are eager to enjoy their world-class attractions, colorful cultural enclaves, mouthwatering cuisine, and must-see shopping destinations.
The Singapore Tourism Board (official website) conducted an annual tourism performance review and according to the record, more than 736,000 visitors from the Philippines visited the country in 2017 alone. This marked a huge increase of 6 percent from 2016. This 6 percent increase in tourism resulted in tourism receipts totaling to $573 million (or P23 billion) from January to September 2017. Among these receipts comprised 32 percent for accommodations and 25 percent for shopping.
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The Stellar Year: In Review
Other than reaching a huge milestone in its Philippine market, Singapore also attained record highs in terms of overall tourism receipts and visitor arrivals on its second consecutive year. It increased its total tourism receipts from 2.9 percent to $26.8 billion. Its growing visitor arrivals also increased from 6.2 percent to 17.4 million in 2017.
From January to September 2017, the strong growth in tourism receipts can be seen across most of the top 10 markets of Singapore. It was mostly credited to the high spending markets like South Korea, China, United Kingdom, and the United States.
Meanwhile, the increase in visitor arrivals was credited to 13 of the top 15 markets of the country, with the Philippines, China, India, Vietnam, United States, United Kingdom, and Germany hitting record numbers. Among these top markets, India has the highest growth rate with 16 percent increase. China also contributed to the bulk of growth in visitors with 13 percent. Notably, Vietnam became a top 10 market for the first time.
What to Expect in 2018
For this year, the Singapore Tourism Board expects tourism performance to continue to improve. It is expected that tourism receipts will continue to increase by 1 to 3 percent, ranging from $27.1 to 27.6 billion. International visitor arrivals are also expected to grow by 1 to 4 percent, ranging from $17.6 to 18.1 million.
STB is also optimistic about the tourism prospects for the year ahead due to the improving global economy and Asia-Pacific tourism bound to expand. However, there might be some challenges to face such as geopolitical tension, travel sentiments, and regional competition that continues to intensify.
With this in mind as well as a vision of quality tourism growth, STB plans to boost its marketing efforts and initiates in improving the attractiveness of the country and its industry competitiveness.
Also Read:
- Singapore Passport is now ‘World’s Most Powerful’
- Enjoy While Sticking to Your Budget: The 5 Best Hawker Centers in Singapore
- Tall, black and caffeinated: A coffee connoisseur’s go-to cafes in Singapore
- Experience Amazing Sights and Flights As You Spend Your Holidays in Singapore
- Ultimate List of the Best Singapore Luxury Hotels
