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Through an aggressive global recovery program that restored traveler confidence following the SARS epidemic, Singapore
significantly narrowed its …
Through an aggressive global recovery program that restored traveler confidence following the SARS epidemic, Singapore
significantly narrowed its projected decline in annual visitor arrivals from 30 percent to 19 percent for 2003.
The Singapore Tourism Board (STB) reported that 6.125 million visitors came to the Lion City in 2003. Earlier in the year, STB estimated that 2003 visitor totals would drop below 5.4 million as a result of the SARS epidemic,a weak global economy and worldwide concerns surrounding war and terrorism.
Singapore`s tourism sector has seen a strong recovery: monthly visitor arrivals were down -70.7 percent in May 2003 vs. May 2002, but climbed as high as +7.9 percent in November 2003 as compared to November 2002.
The United States, the ninth largest market for Singapore visitor arrivals, generated 250,612 visitors to the Lion City in 2003, a decline of 23 percent that was also an improvement over STB`s revised 2003 projections.
Singapore preceded many of its Asian neighbors in being lifted from the World Health Organization`s (WHO) list of SARS-affected areas and is readily prepared to handle any future incidents. WHO recognized Singapore`s efforts
to end the epidemic saying this is an inspiring victory that should make all of us optimistic that SARS can be contained everywhere. Immediately after, STB launched a US$17.6 million global recovery program to ensure the long-term sustainability of the Singapore tourism industry.
The traveling public has demonstrated a resounding vote of confidence in Singapore as a destination for business and holiday travel, said Gabriel Tseng, vice-president Eastern USA & South America. This year, Singapore is offering an enticing tourism product that features an array of unique experiences, events and festivals.
Despite challenging conditions remaining in the global marketplace, STB aims to restore its visitor arrivals in 2004 to 2002 totals when 7.6 million visitors came to the country. This would represent a 24 percent increase over 2003 visitor arrivals.
Theodore is the Co-Founder and Managing Editor of TravelDailyNews Media Network; his responsibilities include business development and planning for TravelDailyNews long-term opportunities.
