Visitor arrivals from Singapore showed a 5% increase for the 2009 calendar year. Australia has benefited from its status as closest Western destination and the historically low airfares available throughout 2009. However, there is a marked increase in competition from other destinations as national tourism organisations identify Singapore as a key market to stimulate arrivals. The Singaporean consumer is one where travel is part of their lifestyle, not a luxury.
Malaysia, Indonesia, Singapore, India and Thailand are showing positive growth in visitor arrivals for year 2009.
Consumer confidence is returning in different stages around the region and arrivals show the continued impact of heavily discounted airfares by major legacy and LCC carriers particularly in Singapore and Malaysia.
Most significantly, in Singapore, this growth is being led by Leisure Visitors. September 2009 saw a milestione in Malaysian arrivals as they surpassed 200,000 visitors for the first time in a 12 month period. The Malaysian growth, attributed to families taking leisure trips and VFR visits, is expected to continue with trade partners indicating a steady pick up for Chinese New Year bookings.
Indian holiday arrivals have declined recently but are still up 8% year on year at the end 2009. Conversely, Indian VFR traffic is registering higher than expected growth. Indonesian Holiday and VFR arrivals are maintaining a strong upward trend as the year end holidays began in November.
Outbound travel from the Gulf including Saudi and the UAE has been impacted by the H1N1 flu virus as well as the global economic downturn particularly in Dubai. Total arrivals saw the holiday segment continue to fall (-19%) with increases in the VFR (28%) and Education (46%) segments.
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