Indian tourist visit to Singapore increases

Mumbai, July 18 (UNI) The number of Indian tourists to Singapore reached a record high of 98,000 during the month of May, an increase of 20.9 per cent in the same month last year.

Total international visitor arrivals to Singapore were 820,000 during May, an increase of 7.1 per cent relative to the same month in 2006, a Singapore Tourism press release said. The total visitor days were estimated to reach 3.1 million days, an increase of 16.8 per cent relative to the same month in 2006. The five countries which accounted for 55 per cent of total visitor arrivals for the month of May were: Indonesia had 155,000 India had 98,000, China had 85,000, Australia had 59,000 while Malaysia had 51,000 visitor arrivals.

The release said Singapore's competitive advantage for the Indian market is its proximity to India (just 3-4 hrs flying time), value for money, people are warm and friendly, its a multicultural society and it acts as a bridge between the East and the West.

Target markets for Brand Singapore are Primary Tier 1 towns - Mumbai, Chennai, Delhi, Bangalore, Kolkata, Hyderabad, Pune, Ahmedabad, while the secondary Tier 2 towns are - Chandigarh, Mohali, Ludhiana, Jalandhar, Amritsar, Lucknow, Kanpur, Jaipur, Goa, Vizag, Trichy, Coimbatore, Madurai, Cochin, Trivandrum, Nagpur and Surat, the release said.

UNI