The Singapore Tourism industry has noticed a rise in the tourists from China. China has now become the largest source of tourists for Singapore for the first time. It has also been noticed that the Chinese visitors were also the biggest tourist spenders in 2017 for the third year running.
Micheal Martin the general manager at InterContinental Singapore said that since 2015 they have made their hotel a China-ready establishment. The staff at the hotel are trained in Chinese etiquettes and presenting a name card with two hands. Even Mandarin speaking staff are available all the time to attend the needs of the guests.
Martin informed that they have noticed a 15% increase in the number of Chinese guests in 2017 when compared with 2016. A regent Singapore spokesperson was asked about how the Chinese tourists habits have changed to which he said, “We’ve started seeing a trend where more individual travellers book either directly through the hotel’s website or online travel agents… We have noticed that experiencing new dining trends has also become a focus for these travellers.”
Singapore noticed 3.2 million tourists arriving in 2017 and beat the traditional leader Indonesia that had accounted for three million tourists. The Singapore Tourism Board figures revealed that a record 17.4 million tourists visited the country and China maintained its first spot for visitor spending. From January to September 2017 a 10 percent increase has been noticed. According to the industry experts, Singapore has appealed the Chinese tourists, who indulge in more than just shopping and sightseeing. It also gives the guests to get a chance to learn more about the heritage and culture of the southeast Asian country. Chang Chee Pee, the assistant chief executive of STB said that they will be focusing on growth in terms of China, India and Indonesia as a way to minimize risks of depending too much on a single country for tourism.
Photo Credits: straitstimes
