Minister Lim Hng Kiang's written reply to Parliament Questions on Hotel Rates Supply and Casino Revenue

Question No 480 of Notice Paper No 127 of 2010

Name and Constituency of Member of Parliament
Mr Seah Kian Peng, Member for Marine Parade GRC 

Question
To ask the Minister for Trade and Industry in view of the recent success of the casinos (a) what has been the increase in hotel rates from April to June 2010; (b) whether such increases are sustainable and whether there are plans to increase the supply of hotel rooms; and (c) what is the breakdown of casino revenue received from Singaporeans and overseas spenders.

Answer
The general rebound in the global economy and Asia, has contributed to higher year-on-year visitor arrivals since end-2009. Indeed, visitor arrivals to the Asia-Pacific region have been projected by the UN World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) to increase by 5 to 7 per cent in 2010. All of these have allowed the Singapore hotel industry to make a strong recovery.

The growth in Singapore’s hotel room rates, occupancy and revenue, is similar to the recovery seen in the Asia Pacific - in particular cities such as Hong Kong. Average room rates in Singapore hotels have increased by about 20 per cent to about $219 in June 2010, compared to a year ago. This has yet to reach the highs of 2008 where room rates averaged $245, peaking at the average of about $300 in the month of Sep 2008 when the inaugural F1 night race was held. The recovering hotel rates do not appear to have dampened demand. Average occupancy in hotels have ranged in the highs of 80 to 88 per cent in the first half of this year, compared to 66 to 76 per cent occupancy during the same period last year.

Singapore is well poised to ride on the growth of tourism in Asia, with the opening of the two Integrated Resorts (Marina Bay Sands and Resorts World Sentosa), as well as the launch of three new malls along Orchard Road (Ion, Orchard Central and Somerset 313). Supported by existing mainstay attractions such as the Night Safari, the Singapore Tourism Board (STB) is expecting record visitors hip of between 12 to 12.5 million this year.

Over the longer term, STB is targeting to grow visitor arrivals to Singapore to reach 17 million by 2015, supported by upcoming developments such as Gardens by the Bay, the International Cruise Terminal in Marina South, and the River Safari in Mandai.

In line with this, the Government will continue to facilitate the growth in hotel room supply and expand the range of accommodation options available to travellers. At the start of this year, Singapore's hotel room inventory stood at over 41,000 rooms. With the opening of the Integrated Resorts and other hotels such as The Club, Fullerton Bay Hotel, and the upcoming Grand Park Orchard, there will be about 6,000 rooms added to the inventory by the end of the year. Adequate supply of hotel rooms will continue to be provided through the timely release of sites for hotel development under the Government Land Sales programme. Additional supply of hotel rooms could also be made available through hotel developments on private land.

We do not have the breakdown of casino revenues from locals and foreigners.