Casinos boost tourism in Singapore

More travelers are making the city state their final destination, in large part after ending a decades-old ban on casinos that’s helped to double the number of Chinese visitors to the country.

Official figures show that income from tourism in Singapore surged 25pc in the four years since the first two casino resorts were opened in 2010. Also Credit Suisse said last month that tourist arrivals this year will probably exceed forecasts from the Singapore Tourism Board, climbing as much as 8 percent to 16.5 million compared to 2015.

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Gaming and entertainment revenue is the largest single source of Singapore’s tourism income, accounting for 24% of all receipts in the first nine months of 2015

 

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That’s a big deal in a country where tourism accounts for about 10pc of gross domestic product, according to estimates from the World Travel & Tourism Council, an industry body.

The tiny island nation lacks the landscapes, beaches and ancient temples that draw thousands of visitors to nearby Thailand and Vietnam. Yet it draws more travelers than countries such as India, Indonesia and Philippines.

The city state has managed to hold onto its 4.5pc share of all tourist arrivals in the Asia Pacific region between 2010 and 2014, even as Malaysia and Australia lost ground to nations like Thailand and South Korea, according to data from the United Nations’ World Tourism Organization.

Casinos and China’s boom in outbound tourism explain some of that growth, but there’s more to the story. Singapore is also a world-leader in the business traveler market, focused on conferences and exhibitions. These visitors generally spend on average twice as much as leisure tourists, according to the Singapore Tourism Board.

Gaming and entertainment revenue is the largest single source of Singapore’s tourism income, accounting for 24pc of all receipts in the first nine months of 2015, the last period for which there is full data.