(TAN): Singapore is gearing up for a drop in tourist arrivals of up to 30% this year in the wake of the coronavirus emergency which could have a greater bearing on the sector than the 2003 SARS outbreak, reports said.
The island state reportedly endured a 19% year-on-year decline in tourist arrivals when SARS affected worldwide tourism in 2003. This year, Singapore could lose around 18,000 to 20,000 visitors a day, and the numbers could dip further if the situation does not improve, as per reports.
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Chief Executive of Singapore Tourism Board, Keith Tan, reportedly said businesses were suffering because of the outbreak as China was a significant tourist market.
“The main cry that I’m hearing is ‘help’ right now from the entire tourism industry. There’s lots of anecdotal evidence of business drying up, but that’s not surprising given how much China contributes to our visitor arrivals,” he was quoted by Bloomberg as saying.
According to reports, just like visitor arrivals, Singapore’s tourism receipts could fall too. The city-state reportedly posted SGD27.1 billion (USD19.54 billion approximately) in tourism spending in 2019, SGD3.2 billion of which were contributed by Chinese visitors.
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Singapore’s restrictions on travel from mainland China could result in loss of tourists and tourism spending as Chinese tourists make up about one-fifth of all Singapore’s arrivals, reports said. Moreover, tourists from other countries are reportedly delaying their trips to Singapore and other Asian countries owing to the virus – South Korea and Kuwait have urged citizens to suspend travel to Singapore and other nations in the region.
As per reports, the government has announced actions to back the sector that accounts for 10% of Singapore’s Gross Domestic Product – licensing fees for hotels and travel agencies will reportedly be waived by the administration in 2020. The Singapore Tourism Board will also form a Tourism Recovery Action Taskforce, with experts from public and private sectors, to assist with recovery efforts, reports said.
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