The first six months of the year reportedly saw the number of tourists visiting the island city-state of Singapore increase by 7.6% year-on-year to stand at almost 9.2 million with some 24% of these vacationers originating from China. Greater China figure rises by 10%: According to a Monday report from GGRAsia citing official figures from the Singapore Tourism Board, the former British colony welcomed 2.2 million visitors from greater China during the six months from January 1, which represented a rise of some 10% year-on-year. Singapore is home to the giant Resorts World Sentosa integrated casino resort from operator, Genting Singapore Limited, as well as Las Vegas Sands Corporation’s iconic Marina Bay Sands counterpart and the six-month period also saw it chalk up an 11.4% swell year-on-year in tourists from mainland China to just over 1.7 million.
Significant swells in India, Malaysia and Taiwan figures: GGRAsia reported that the official figures additionally showed that the number of tourists visiting Singapore from India during the six months rose by around 17% year-on-year to stand at 768,616 and account for almost 8% of the half-year tally. Similarly, it reported that those crossing the border from neighbouring Malaysia improved by 3.9% year-on-year to hit 584,555 and comprise approximately 6% of the six-month total while the number of visitors from the rest of Southeast Asia strengthened by 5.2% to reach in excess of 3.2 million. GGRAsia reported that the number of arrivals from Hong Kong during the six-month period enlarged by 1.1% year-on-year to 224,068 while those from Taiwan hit 211,213 to represent a swell of some 8%.
Local casino market growing stronger: Finally, the media outlet reported that the six-month numbers indicate the ever-increasing strength and importance of Singapore’s casino market subsequent to citing a Monday memo from brokerage firm Maybank Kim Eng Holdings Limited that noted a 4.5% improvement year-on-year in first-half turnover at Genting Singapore Limited.
