Mainland China visitors to Singapore up 9.9 pct in Nov

Jan 13, 2015 Newsdesk Latest News, Singapore, Top of the deck  

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The number of international visitors arriving in Singapore fell 3.6 percent year-on-year in November according to data published on Monday by the Singapore Tourism Board (STB).

The aggregate slipped to 1,141,260, from a total of 1,184,002 in the year-prior period, partly on a decline in the number of Indonesian tourists.

But visitor arrivals from mainland China actually rose by 9.9 percent during the period, from 119,618 in November 2013, to 131,518 in November 2014.

Data from the STB released in mid-October 2014, showed that in the second quarter 2014, ending June 30, the number of mainland Chinese tourists visiting Singapore fell 47 percent year-on-year, and nearly 44 percent judged quarter-on-quarter.

Chinese visitors are viewed as an important target group for Singapore’s casino resorts.

In November, Genting Singapore Plc, operator of the casino resort Resorts World Sentosa, reported that its third-quarter net profit after taxation fell 43 percent year-on-year, to SGD127.1 million (US$98.2 million). The firm cited bad luck in terms of VIP table games hold percentage as one cause.

Net revenue at Las Vegas Sands Corp’s Marina Bay Sands resort fell 5 percent year-on-year to US$736 million in the third quarter.

The number of Indonesian tourists arriving in Singapore fell by 8.1 percent in November 2014 to 219,037, from 238,233 in the year-prior period.

Last year the the Straits Times newspaper reported that Changi Airport Group (Singapore) Pte Ltd – operator of Singapore Changi Airport – was collaborating with the STB,  Las Vegas Sands and Genting Singapore, and “other travel partners” on a SGD1 million (US$771,000) promotional campaign for the city.

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