As Singapore visitor arrivals rise, India becomes major contributor
1 min read . Updated: 25 Jul 2022, 08:45 AM IST
PremiumThe Singapore Tourism Board (STB) predicted that it is expecting around six million footfalls of international visitors this year.
As Singapore reopened its borders for all the Covid-19 vaccinated travellers in April this year, the country received more than 1.5 million visitors till June 2022. However, around 9.3 million tourists visited Singapore in the first half of 2019, which is 12 times higher in number it received for the corresponding period in 2021, according to the news agency ANI.
In an official statement, the Singapore Tourism Board (STB) predicted that it is expecting around six million footfalls of international visitors this year.
Of these 1.5 million visitors during the first half of this year, Indians represent the second highest nationality who visited Singapore during this period. The agency reported that over 219,000 Indians visited this country till June 2022.
Indonesia with 282,000 visitors, Malaysia with 139,000, followed by Australia (125,000) and the Philippines with 81,000 are among the top five countries which accounts for over 56% of international visitors from January to June this year.
As per ANI reports, the reason behind rising number of international visitors in Singapore is the country was one of the first region to open the borders with no quarantine requirement. It is also believed that Singapore is considered to be the safe destination as the country managed the Covid-19 outbreak properly.
In the first half of 2021, Singapore received 330,000 foreign visitors while the number was 2.74 million during the same period in 2020. The Changi Airport of Singapore has been kept busy due to rising number of people coming from abroad.
On an average, the airport managed the takeoff and arrival of 13,000 aircrafts from January to March this year, while in April and May, a total of 15,000 and 17,000 planes took off and landed here. For comparison, a monthly average of 7,800 commercial aeroplanes passed through Changi in the first five months of 2021.
Despite the positive response from the international visitors, Keith Tan, Chief Executive, Singapore Tourism Board said that the growth underscores country’s appeal as a vibrant and attractive destination for business travellers.
The country also issued Covid-19 guidelines for the international visitors arriving in Singapore via air or sea checkpoints. It stated the travellers are no no longer need to take a pre-departure coronavirus test as restrictions for controlling the spread of the coronavirus are eased.
(With ANI inputs)
