S'pore hotel rooms up

S'pore hotel rooms up

SINGAPORE (Reuter): The number of hotel rooms in Singapore
will rise by 2,000 this year to 33,013, the Straits Times
newspaper reported yesterday.

It said the increase would be largely due to the opening of
big hotels such as the 612-room Ritz Carlton and the 507-room
Pontiac Marina. There will also be more hotels with over 100
rooms, it added.

It quoted Pakir Singh, chief executive of the Singapore Hotel
Association, as saying the industry might be able to absorb the
extra rooms if tourism growth continued healthy.

"A lot will also depend on how much stronger the convention,
exhibition and events market is this year," Pakir said.

Visitor arrivals rose 3.5 percent last year to 7.14 million
from 6.9 million in 1994. The Singapore Tourist Promotion Board
has projected that tourist arrivals will rise by three to five
percent this year.