Tourists arrival to Singapore from India goes up

Tiruchirapalli, Jun 19 (UNI) Arrival of visitors to Singapore from India, witnessed a 14 per cent growth during 2007, according to a senior official of the Singapore Tourism Board.

The arrivals of tourists was not only higher from the four metros of Mumbai, Chennai, Delhi and Bangalore, but also from Tier II cities too, Kiran Bhandari, Area Director (Southern India, Sri Lanka and Maldives), told reporters at a press conference here yesterday.

The arrival of visitors from Tiruchirapalli to Singapore had almost doubled since 2002, registering a growth rate of 32 per cent in 2006. Other secondary cities in the south such as Coimbatore, Kochi and Madurai, registered an average arrival growth of 26 per cent.

For the first time 'Year 2007' was a record for Singapore tourism, with the arrival of nearly ten million visitors, the official said.

''We anticipate a double digit growth during this year too,'' he said attributing the growth to Singapore, enjoying 'top-of-mind recall' among Indian holidaymakers. We will continue to focus on families as our primary target by projecting new experiences to attract first timers and repeat family travel to Singapore. We will launch off-season travel campaigns and promote awareness about Singapore's tourist attractions,'' he added.

He said the concept of New Singapore is being promoted with the launch of new attractions like Singapore Flyer, the world's largest observation wheel, the Formula 1 Grand Prix season in September, and the opening of two new resorts, the Marina Bay sands integrated resort and the resorts world at Sentosa, in the next couple of years.

The Sentosa resort would also house Universal Studios Theme Park and the Marine Life Park, touted as the world's largest oceanarium, he added.

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