S'pore tourism on the rise

S'pore tourism on the rise

SINGAPORE (DPA): The number of tourists traveling to Singapore rose for the fourth straight month in April though the number of visitors from Europe and the United States was down, the Singapore Tourism Board (STB) reported Thursday.

Figures showed a 6.6 percent increase in tourists year-on- year, following erratic but positive monthly growth since January.

Hotel occupancy was flat at 70 percent, and room rates fell 15 percent during the month.

Overall arrivals from Asia rose 10 percent, with Indonesia and China, the top and sixth largest markets, surging 32 percent and 44 percent respectively.

Arrivals from Japan and Malaysia, the second and third largest visitor-generating countries, declined 3.1 percent and 10.2 percent, but arrivals from Thailand soared 41 percent due to a long public holiday in April.