• About Us
  • The Team
  • Advertise with Us

The latest news on the gaming industry in Asia

() () () () () () () () () () () () () () () () () () () () () () () () () () () () () () () () () () () () () () () () () () () () () () () () () () () () () () () () () () () () () () () () () () () () () () () () () () () () () () () () () () () () () () () () () () () () () () () () () () () () () () () ()
  • Home
  • Macau
  • Philippines
  • Singapore
  • Japan
  • Rest of Asia
  • World
  • Features
  • Industry Talk
  • Trends & Tech
  • follow
    • Facebook
    • Twitter
    • RSS Feed
    • LinkedIn

Singapore reports record tourism income in 2018

Feb 14, 2019 Newsdesk Latest News, Singapore, Top of the deck  


Singapore reports record tourism income in 2018

Tourists flocked to Singapore in greater numbers than ever before last year, spending a record amount on gaming, sightseeing and entertainment, says the Singapore Tourism Board.

The city-state’s tourism board issued a written statement on Wednesday with data for the 2018 calendar year. Its preliminary estimate says total income from tourism rose by 1 percent to SGD27.1 billion (US$19.95 billion) last year. Spending on sightseeing, entertainment and gaming rose by 6 percent year-on-year but the board did not offer a separate figure for income in this segment.

In Wednesday’s release, the tourism board said the number of arrivals and the amount spent per visitor grew for a third year in a row, yet there were decreases in spending on shopping (14 percent), accommodation (5 percent) and food and beverage (4 percent).

The “tourism receipts” metric used by Singapore officials includes airfares bought on Singapore-based carriers, port taxes, ground transportation, business, medical, education and transit visitors. This segment grew by 21 percent last year.

The number of tourists holidaying in Singapore last year rose by 6.2 percent to about 18.5 million arrivals, with increases across most of the city state’s biggest target markets.

One of the main source markets is mainland China. China is widely assumed to be where many of the gamblers and much of the money bet in Singapore casinos come from, although gaps in the way Singapore presents statistics makes it hard to be certain.

Singapore is host to two casino resorts: Resorts World Sentosa, operated by Genting Singapore Ltd; and Marina Bay Sands, run by a unit of Las Vegas Sands Corp.

The annual amount that Chinese visitors spent in Singapore – excluding what they spent on sightseeing, entertainment and gaming – rose by 3 percent last year. The board says they spent more because more Chinese tourists visited for holidaymaking, not necessarily to gamble. The number of visitor arrivals from mainland China was up by about 5.8 percent last year compared to 2017, with nearly 3.42 million tourists visiting Singapore last year. Mainland China remained Singapore’s largest single source market for tourists.

A deeper dive into the data shows Singapore is competing for different tourist markets compared to other gaming destinations in the Asia-Pacific region. Singapore’s biggest source markets by arrivals – mainland China, Indonesia, India, Malaysia and Australia – vary considerably when compared to Macau, for example, which counts the mainland, Hong Kong, Taiwan, South Korea and Japan as its top five markets.

Singapore says the number of visitors from seven of the main sources set new records last year, with India showing the biggest year-on-year increase, up 13.4 percent to 1.44 million arrivals in full-year 2018.

The tourism board forecasts that the annual number of visitors will rise by between 1 percent and 4 percent this year to between 18.7 million and 19.2 million, and that the amount they will spend will rise by between 1 percent and 3 percent to between SGD27.3 billion and SGD27.9 billion.

In 2017, Singapore said tourism receipts were SGD26.8 billion, a year-on-year improvement of 3.9 percent.


  • tweet
Related articles
  • 2020 tourist tally down 85pct at 5.9mln: Macau police
    2020 tourist tally down 85pct at...

    Jan 14, 2021  

  • Macau airport 2020 passenger volume down 88 pct y-o-y
    Macau airport 2020 passenger volume...

    Jan 13, 2021  

More news
  • Casino op MGM China to pay most staff discretionary bonus
    Casino op MGM China to pay most staff...

    Jan 18, 2021  

  • Casino op Silver Heritage to issue 53mln new shares
    Casino op Silver Heritage to issue...

    Jan 18, 2021  


Latest News

Casino op MGM China to pay most staff discretionary bonus

Casino op MGM China to pay most staff discretionary bonus

Jan 18, 2021  

Macau casino operator MGM China Holdings Ltd announced on Monday that it was to pay a “discretionary bonus” to “eligible non-management” staff, adding that “over 90 percent” of its...
Read More
Casino op Silver Heritage to issue 53mln new shares

Casino op Silver Heritage to issue 53mln new shares

Jan 18, 2021  

Grand Korea extends Seoul, Busan casino closures to Feb 1

Grand Korea extends Seoul, Busan casino closures to Feb 1

Jan 18, 2021  

Sign up to our FREE Newsletter

UB8V5.qr.16(Click here for more)

Partners

Pick of the Day

"The most worrying [thing] is whether [mainland] China will again tighten the issuance of travel visas [for visits to Macau]"

Luiz Lam Kai Kuong

Macau junket investor



Most Popular

  • CNY 2021 unlikely to boost Macau casinos, say observersCNY 2021 unlikely to boost Macau casinos, say observers January 15, 2021
  • Police find US$11m of missed Landing cash, suspects soughtPolice find US$11m of missed Landing cash, suspects sought January 14, 2021
  • Still Asia focus for LVS post chairman death: BernsteinStill Asia focus for LVS post chairman death: Bernstein January 14, 2021
  • Quality fake chips sold online found at Macau casinoQuality fake chips sold online found at Macau casino January 13, 2021
  • Melco Resorts debt/EBITDA ratio to worsen in 2021: Moody’sMelco Resorts debt/EBITDA ratio to worsen in 2021: Moody’s January 14, 2021
Copyright 2014-2020 TEAM Publishing and Consultancy Ltd / All rights reserved
  • Code of Ethics
  • Privacy Policy
  • Useful Links
  • Contact Us