Singapore room rates hit 6-year high as tourism recovers
Tourism is a major industry in Singapore, contributing to around four percent of its gross domestic product in 2019. That year also recorded the highest number of international visitor arrivals to Singapore. However, the COVID-19 pandemic put a stop to the year-on-year growth of visitor arrivals, with far-reaching consequences in the tourism sector and related industries. singapore hotel room rates
As more and more countries start lifting restrictions on global travel in 2022, Singapore’s tourism industry is expected to rebound. Singapore’s hotel room rates surged last month to the highest in almost six years as tourism makes a recovery in the city-state after the government eased coronavirus measures.
The average rate in June was S$238.32, the highest since September 2016, according to data from the Singapore Tourism Board. That represents a 63% increase from a year earlier, when quarantine rules were still in place, Bloomberg reports.
Singapore in April became one of the first major regional economies to announce it would end all testing for incoming vaccinated travelers as the government furthered efforts for living with Covid-19. A revival of conferences and major events have also attracted visitors, and STB data showed a nearly 12-fold increase in arrivals in the first half of 2022 compared with the same period a year ago.
Domestic tourism promotion
The COVID-19 pandemic had a significant impact on global tourism, and Singapore was not spared. Monthly visitor arrivals in 2020 plummeted by more than 90 percent, resulting in decreased tourism receipts and hotel room occupancy. To support local businesses impacted by this loss, the government pumped 320 million Singapore dollars to promote domestic tourism through the SingapoRediscovers campaign. Every citizen was entitled to 100 Singapore dollars worth of vouchers to be used in hotel bookings, attractions, and tours.
In April 2022, however, Singapore fully re-opened its borders to international visitors, having achieved a COVID-19 vaccination rate of 92 percent. While visitor numbers have shown growth since then, Singapore would still be feeling the impact of a lack of visitors from China, which was the leading source market for international arrivals to its shores.
Singapore expects to receive 4 million to 6 million visitors in 2022, although tourism flows will face some headwinds for the rest of the year because of the volatile global political and economic environment, as well as the evolving health situation, STB said last week.
Singapore as a must-visit tourist destination singapore hotel room rates
To compete and distinguish itself from the internationally-popular beach holiday destinations right at its doorstep, such as Thailand and Bali, Singapore has invested heavily in marketing itself as a must-visit city destination offering a variety of unique experiences and tourist attractions. In the last decade, several large-scale projects were completed that helped place Singapore on the tourism map, such as the Gardens by the Bay, which houses the world’ largest glass greenhouse, and the world’s second-largest aquarium, the S.E.A Aquarium in Resorts World Sentosa. Since 2019, Singapore added another superlative attraction to that list – the world’s tallest indoor waterfall, located in Changi Airport.
Apart from the unique attractions, Singapore also offers a variety of international events for travelers with different interests, such as the Formula One Singapore Grand Prix, the world’s only night race. In October 2022, Singapore will host the annual DOTA 2’s International annual championship for the first time. This tournament is among the highlights in the international e-Sports calendar.
