• In August 2008, visitor arrivals to Singapore were at 842,000, registering a decline of 7.7% compared to August 2007. Visitor days1 were estimated to reach 3.7 million days, an increase of 3.8% in comparison with August 2007.

• Indonesia (133,000), P R China (91,000), Australia (65,000), India (58,000) and Japan (53,000) were Singapore’s top five visitor-generating markets. These markets accounted for 48% of total visitor arrivals for the month.

• Among the top 15 markets, Germany (8%), Australia (5%), Vietnam (4%), India (3%) and the Philippines (1%) registered growth. 9 out of the top 15 markets saw a decline in visitor arrivals compared to August 2007, a likely result of the global economic slowdown.

• Singapore gazetted hotels were estimated to reap S$165 million in room revenue, representing a growth of 3.6% versus August 2007.

• The Average Room Rate (ARR) in August 2008 was estimated to be S$232, representing an increase of 14.9% over August 2007. The Average Occupancy Rate (AOR) for hotels was estimated to reach 81% in August 2008, posting a 9.5 percentage point decrease over August 2007. Revenue Per Available Room (Revpar) grew by 2.8% to reach S$187 for August 2008.

• The decline in visitor arrivals in August, July and June reflects the current challenging global economic environment and outlook for the tourism sector, which may continue into 2009. While the tourism sector is likely to fall short of this year’s target of 10.8 million visitors, the Singapore Tourism Board (STB) is strengthening its efforts in increasing tourism spend to achieve the tourism receipts target of S$15.5 billion.

[source from app.stb.gov.sg]