In the first half of this year, Singapore received 7.5 millioninternational visitors, down by 3 percent compared to the same periodlast year, with tourism revenue growing by 2 percent year-on-year to11.8 billion SGD (roughly 9,4 billion USD).

According to the Singapore Tourism Board (STB), almost all targetmarkets recorded a decline in the number of arrivals in Singapore ,such as China with 871,000, down by 30 percent; and Malaysia with592,000, down by 2 percent.

Out of the 15markets with the highest number of arrivals in Singapore from Januaryto June, Indonesia came first with more than 1.52 million, up by 3percent. As many as 206,000 visitors came from Vietnam , up by 12percent, ranking 13 th . Hong Kong and South Korea recorded thehighest increase in numbers at 16 percent with 298,000 and 268,000visitors, respectively.

The STB added thattourism revenue increased by 2 percent due to profits generated bysightseeing, entertainment and gaming businesses, which recorded thelargest year-on-year increase of 15 percent. However, the retail sectorsaw a decline in revenue by 13 percent, and the food and beverage sectorrecorded a decline of 2 percent.

During thethe six months, revenue generated by hotels totalled around 1.6 billionSGD (about 1.28 billion USD), up by 9.1 percent. Average room rates inthe hotel industry rose by 1.2 percent to 258 SGD, while the averageoccupancy rate declined to 85 percent.-VNA