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To attract more tourists from India, Singapore is planning to increase its focus on Tier-II and Tier-III cities this year.
“In 2019, Tier-I cities will continue to give us huge numbers in terms of foreign arrivals and there is also scope for expansion in smaller cities,” said GB Srithar, Regional Director, Singapore Tourism Board.
In 2018, 2.50 lakh Indian visitors came to Singapore from Tier-II cities, including Chandigarh, Vizag and Coimbatore. Nearly 12 per cent growth was witnessed in the number of travellers coming from Tier-II cities in 2018. “We want the momentum to continue in 2019 too,” said Srithar.
According to the Singapore Tourism Board, family travel is a huge segment in addition to cruise tourism and MICE. However, in the last 3-5 years, there has been a huge growth in the number of working adults travelling to Singapore for leisure.
“Today, Singapore and India are connected by 18 direct connections, these Indian cities are connected directly to Singapore and getting a visa is also relatively hassle-free,” he said.
Last year, 18.5 million visitors came to Singapore from across the world — a 6.2 per cent increase from 2017.
“India is our third largest market. We received 1.44 million visitors in 2018. Last year, it (India) emerged as the top growing market among our top 15 markets — which include China, Indonesia and Japan — with a growth rate of 13 per cent,” said Chee Pey Chang, Assistant Chief Executive, Singapore Tourism Board.
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