Haze cuts tourist visits to Singapore<\/p>\n
SINGAPORE (Reuters): Tourist arrivals in Singapore slipped
\nsharply in October because of smog that has enveloped Southeast
\nAsia in recent months, state television said yesterday.<\/p>\n
The television quoted the Singapore Tourism Board (STB) as
\nsaying tourist numbers fell 17.6 percent last month. It gave no
\ndetailed figures.<\/p>\n
The TV report said the STB did not expect tourist arrivals to
\npick up any time in the near future.<\/p>\n
The STB was not immediately available for comment.<\/p>\n
The onset of the northern hemisphere winter has brought
\nmonsoon rains in recent days, clearing Singapore's skies of the
\nsmog, caused by forest fires and land burning in Indonesia.<\/p>\n
The outlook for Singapore's tourism industry was still hazy
\nfor coming months, the TV report said, adding that negative
\nworldwide publicity over the smog had hit tourism throughout
\nSoutheast Asia.<\/p>\n
Indonesian, Thai and Malaysian visitors stayed away from
\nSingapore because of flight cancellations due to low visibility
\nfrom the smog and due to the regional currency crisis that has
\ndepressed the value of their currencies, state television said.<\/p>\n
The Singapore dollar has slipped in past months but not as
\nbadly as the currencies of its neighbors, making it a relatively
\nmore expensive destination.<\/p>",
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