'India should become top tourist destination for Singaporeans'

Singapore, Feb 26: India should become number one destination for Singapore tourists, given the number of airlines flying between the two countries, the Indian envoy has said.

"We want India to be the number one destination for Singapore tourists, just as the city state has become a favourite destination for Indian tourists," High Commissioner, Vijay Thakur Singh said yesterday.

Addressing Indiatourism seminar, Singh stressed on the ever strengthening ties between India and Singapore, including people to people contacts. With airlines launching flights to tourist attractions in India, there are more opportunities for Singaporeans to visit different parts of the country, she said at the seminar. Singh also spoke of Indian government efforts to make it easier for travellers and the advantage of the online e-tourist visa.

The seminar is an ongoing series launched by Indiatourism across South East Asian capital cities. Meanwhile, Singapore's Changi Airport has reported 3.44 million Indian passenger movements at the airport, making India as its seventh largest country market last year.

Mumbai was Changi's fourth fastest growing route, plus 8.2 per cent on-year, among destinations with at least half a million passengers handled in 2015. Bangkok, Colombo and Guangzhou took the top three spots.

The addition of a new service to Lucknow increased the total number of Changi's city links to India to 13, strengthening the airport's position as the most connected airport in Southeast Asia to India.

In the coming months, Singapore's Tiger Air and Scoot will be increasing the number of flights to India, adding more destinations.

In terms of traffic, the top five Indian cities for Changi Airport are Mumbai, Chennai, New Delhi, Bangalore and Tiruchirappalli.

Changi Airport also identified India as fourth amongst the top five nationalities by concession sale in 2015, with 5.9 per cent of retail sales or an increase of plus 4.2 per cent on-year, by Indian passenger traffic during the year.

The annual data also says that favourite buys for Indian passengers last year were perfumes and cosmetics followed by confectionaries, electronics and jewellery.

PTI