Tourism in Singapore soars

Singapore has recorded an 18 percent growth in visitor arrivals to 996,000 in August this year, the highest seen for the month and the ninth straight month of record visitor arrivals.

The growth in visitor arrivals in August was partly driven by the continuing strength of the Asian economy, the on-going draw of the two Integrated Resorts and the hosting of the first Youth Olympic Games.

Visitor days reached about 4.2 million days, representing a 20.3 percent year-on-year growth compared to August 2009, according to the Singapore Tourism Board.

Among the country’s top five visitor-generating markets include Indonesia (165,000), China (131,000), Malaysia (76,000), Australia (68,000) and India (57,000). These markets made up 50 percent of the total visitor arrivals for the month.

Out of the top 15 markets, 14 saw positive year-on-year growth, with China (+50.9 percent), Thailand (+47.8 percent), and Vietnam (+34.0 percent) posting the highest growth in August.