S'pore sees less tourists<\/p>\n
SINGAPORE (AFP): Tourist arrivals in Singapore fell 4.8
\npercent year-on-year to 655,108 in August but registered the
\nhighest total for a single month so far in 1996, officials said.<\/p>\n
Arrivals from Japan, Singapore's largest tourist market, were
\ndown and declines were also posted in traffic from Indonesia,
\nTaiwan, Malaysia and South Korea, but more American, British and
\nAustralian tourists came in August.<\/p>\n
\"Japanese arrivals fell by 14 percent, due mainly to a
\ndiversion of Japanese traffic to Hong Kong in the run-up to the
\nlatter's handover to China in 1997,\" a statement from the
\nSingapore Tourist Promotion Board (STPB) said.<\/p>\n
Arrivals in the eight months to August were up 2.4 percent to
\nnearly 4.87 million, with incoming Japanese tourists down 0.3
\npercent to 776,942 compared to the same period a year ago.<\/p>\n
STPB chief executive Tan Chin Nam said the August figures were
\na disappointment, but stressed that underlying trends in visitor
\ntraffic to Singapore remained positive.<\/p>\n
Singapore's competitiveness has been affected by high costs, a
\nlabor shortage and the strong local dollar, which makes
\naccommodation and shopping here more expensive than in emerging
\nretail centers like Bangkok, Jakarta and Kuala Lumpur.<\/p>",
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