Tourism has done well in past few years but watch coming months

Singapore's tourism industry has done well with 51 months of uninterrupted growth in visitor arrivals since March 2004. However, the road ahead is not without challenges. Global inflation brought by rising fuel prices, food and commodity shortages, as well as a weakening American economy are creating some degree of uncertainty among travellers.

These factors may have a downstream impact on travel and tourism and we are witnessing our visitor arrivals growing at a slower rate of 0.8% for the months of April and May 2008.

The news however is not all bad either. At the recent SHA-REDAS seminar in June, it was shared that both Average Room Rate (ARR) and Revenue Per Available Room (Revpar) in Singapore have grown at nearly 22% annually since 2004.

Against the backdrop of the global economic slowdown, we have to be cautious over the next few months. We also need to be vigilant, keep our focus to ensure our long term plan is not derailed and prepare for the smorgasbord of exciting projects coming our way by 2010.

In this issue, read what some hospitality leaders are saying about the future, and keep a close watch on emerging trends in the airline and corporate travel sector.

Sincerely,
Ken Low
Assistant Chief Executive
Brand & Communications