Expecting over 1.5 million Indian tourists this year, Singapore is focusing on increasing its hospitality infrastructure such as hotel rooms, and working on seamless and easy visas for them, a senior tourism official said on Wednesday. Before the pandemic-induced lockdown, Singapore had received 1.4 million tourists from India in 2019, which then recovered to 1.1 million in 2023.
In 2024, the Singapore Tourism Board (STB) expects the number to go past the 2019 strength even as it acknowledged the potential of getting over 1.5 million visitors though it has not set any target given “the huge tourism potential of the Indian market.”
With three offices in Mumbai, Delhi and Chennai, the STB is working on getting seamless and easy visas for Indian tourists, Poh Chi Chuan, executive director of Exhibition & Conference at the Singapore Tourism Board (STB) told PTI.
The island state is building infrastructure for tourists and business travellers, such as 9,000 new hotel rooms that are being added to about 72,000 existing rooms.
“We need visitors to come and fill these rooms,” Poh underlined and hoped “The flights between India and Singapore get back to the pre-pandemic level.”
New carriers are operating in India and once they start flying internationally, the number of tourists would increase, Poh added at a press conference.
The press conference was held to announce the inaugural APAC edition of the world-renowned National Retail Federation (NRF) Retail Big Show to be held here on June 11-13, six months after NRF 2024: Retail’s Big Show in New York City.
Singapore is just not looking at the tourist traffic out of India but also business travellers given that both countries have growing trade and a prospering Indian economy, he said.
“We also see a lot of opportunities coming up in India in sectors such as pharma, BioMed, IT and FinTech. These are very strong industries for Singapore to increase bilateral trade,” said Poh, adding that Singapore has large-scale exhibitions and conferences catering to these sectors covering advanced technologies.
The APAC edition of NRF is expecting between five per cent to 10 per cent of delegates for its 5,000-participant strong Singapore show in June, said Ryf Quail, managing director of the global retail event that is held annually in New York.
The introduction of these codeshare connections enhances travel options for Indian tourists, as well as business and leisure travellers, especially during the upcoming summer season. IndiGo already provides travel options to Singapore, further complemented by seamless connectivity to Qantas’ flights between Singapore and Australia. Both airlines had signed a codeshare agreement in 2022.
Industry stalwarts addressing the mega gathering include Kumar Rajagopalan, CEO, the Retailers Association of India, Shireesh Joshi, Chief Business Officer, The Open Network for Digital Commerce, and Mathsy Kutty, APAC Leader, The Climate Pledge, Amazon.
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In conversation with ETTravelWorld, Rita Saffioti, BBus MLA Deputy Premier, Treasurer, Minister for Transport; Tourism- Government of Western Australia highlighted a significant surge in Indian tourists to the destination, boasting a 30 per cent increase since pre-Covid times.
“This surge is coupled with a significant growth in the Indian community in Western Australia. The combination of family visits and leisure travel has contributed to a climbing visitation rate. The Indian population in WA has become the third largest in the state, indicating exponential growth that we expect to continue,” she stated, adding that India’s is a fast growing tourism market, with vast untapped potential.
In 2019, India stood as WA’s 11th largest visitor market, witnessing about 31,000 visitors in the state. Fast forward to September 2023, visitor numbers rebounded impressively to 87 per cent of pre-Covid levels. In one of recent interactions with ETTravelWorld, the minister stated that this notable uptick in tourism figures from India, has propelled the country from becoming 11th to the 7th largest market for Western Australia. This growth was driven notably by a nearly 50 per cent increase in spend per person.
“We view India as a crucial market for our tourism sector, and we are eagerly committed to fostering its further growth while concurrently amplifying our endeavours to raise awareness about Western Australia within India,” she stated.
Saffioti had also recently spearheaded a delegation to India aimed at fortifying bilateral relations, exploring fresh avenues for collaboration with the Indian travel trade, and addressing pertinent challenges, including the prospect of establishing a direct flight route.
“There’s a clear interest in establishing direct links, but aircraft availability remains a challenge. The surge in travel post-Covid has led to high demand, and while direct links are not proposed in the short term due to this constraint, we’re actively eyeing for future opportunities when aircraft become available,” she told ETTravelWorld.
Pilgrimage tourism in India earned per cent1.3 lakh crore in 2022, as compared to per cent0.65 lakh crore in 2021, according to the Ministry of Tourism. Post-renovation, the Kashi Vishwanath Dham in Varanasi experienced an unprecedented rise in footfall, attracting 70 million visitors last year, a dramatic increase from the roughly 8 million who visited in the preceding year, demonstrating the growth of spiritual tourism year on year. It is to be noted that 5 per cent of international travel is attributed to pilgrimage reasons.
Saffioti further noted that, based on available reports and indicators, India’s expanding middle class demonstrates a keen interest in exploring new destinations and indulging in unique experiences. Noting the travel segments currently under scrutiny, Saffioti disclosed that the Western Australian government is actively targeting high net worth individuals, in addition to families and honeymooners.She highlighted the adventurous inclinations of this demographic, citing their interest in activities like self-driven expeditions and deep-sea diving adventures. She emphasised the importance of maintaining focus on these unique adventure experiences, given the fact that WA boasts some stunning natural attractions including the coral reef in Exmouth, Rottnest Island, pristine beaches, and unique experiences in the northwest and Kimberley regions.
Additionally, the minister noted culinary tourism as another segment of interest, as the state has an abundance of fresh, locally-sourced cuisine and gastronomic experiences including wine regions.
In terms of marketing strategies, the minister outlined plans for intensified engagement with travel agents and tour operators. “We’re considering more familiarisation tours for the agents to experience Western Australia firsthand, along with enhanced engagement with tour operators. Explaining our unique attractions like the Ningaloo Reef and Rottnest Island will be crucial, alongside increasing marketing budgets for targeted campaigns,” she mentioned.
Notably, Western Australia just concluded its inaugural India Roadshow post-pandemic, spanning three days of meetings with tourism, travel, and trade partners based in India from February 5 to 7.
Collaboratively organised by Tourism Western Australia (WA) and Business Events Perth, the roadshow featured 16 representatives from WA’s hotels, attractions, experiences, and Regional Tourism Organisations (RTOs), showcasing their offerings to over 300 Indian agents in New Delhi and Mumbai.
When asked about any specific target cities for engagements in India going forward, the minister highlighted Chennai, Mumbai, and Delhi as priority markets. She said the aim is to leverage existing ties and explore new opportunities for collaboration.
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