STB estimates 4-6% annual growth in tourism receipts over next decade

SINGAPORE: The Singapore Tourism Board (STB) estimates that Singapore can bring in four to six per cent more tourism receipts each year over the next decade.

Meanwhile, growth in visitor arrivals should moderate to three to four per cent over the same period.

These targets, which were announced by Second Minister for Trade and Industry S Iswaran on Monday, were significantly lower than the corresponding figures over the past decade.

Between 2002 and 2012, tourism receipts and arrivals grew, on an annual compounded basis, by 10 per cent and 6.6 per cent respectively.

Mr Iswaran was speaking at the tourism industry conference, where a panel discussion gave ideas on the way forward for Singapore’s tourism sector and how to cope with the challenges.

The Singapore Tourism Board (STB) is trying to promote going local and championing the Singapore way of life in its new video, entitled “Singapore Shiok moments”. It features locals enjoying local attractions. The video was launched on March 5.

Harnessing such local ideas and nurturing public participation is just one initiative the STB is undertaking in its next phase of tourism development efforts.

Mr Iswaran said this is timely as recent strong growth in visitor arrivals is not sustainable and tough choices have to be made to challenge the existing way in which things are done.

He said: “Many industry leaders have observed and shared with me that they are already feeling the impact of keen regional competition for the same tourism pie, and this cuts across various verticals of the tourism sector. This challenge is accentuated by our internal labour constraints. This means that the recent strong growth in visitor arrivals is not sustainable.

“The growth model that is based solely on sheer quantitative growth is no longer viable. At this juncture of our growth, we need to agree collectively and move decisively, as an industry and as individual businesses, towards quality yield-driven tourism and consequently devise and execute the strategies that will take us towards that goal.”

Loh Lik Peng, a hotelier and restaurateur, also voiced concerns on how to sustain yield-driven tourism: “In the short term, certainly it’s manpower. The fact is there are a lot of hotels opening up, maybe 10,000 hotel rooms opening in the next two to three years. Singapore doesn’t have enough staff to man those hotels at the moment. At the same time, all the costs are going up, whether it’s manpower or rental or land cost or input cost for food.”

Chief Executive of Singapore Tourism Board, Lionel Yeo, said STB is working with its partners to address these challenges.

He said: “Firstly, looking at how we can augment the manpower capacity – how we make each worker more productive. Secondly, we need to look at the business model and processes – how we arrange the way they organise their operations to see how they can do more with less. And thirdly, I think we want to explore how we can encourage the deployment of technology so we can save on labour.”

Other experts say that Singapore should work on the emotive aspect of its tourism offerings. 

STB estimates 4-6% annual growth in tourism receipts over next decade