IMPACT OF INTEGRATED RESORTS ON TOURISM REVENUE

IMPACT OF INTEGRATED RESORTS ON TOURISM REVENUE: 13.

Mrs Mildred Tan asked the Minister for Trade and Industry (a) for the last one year, what is the dollar spending by the tourism industry and tourism receipts generated by visitors; (b) what proportion of this is generated by the recent improvements ranging from the Orchard Road upgrading to the opening of the two IRs; and (c) whether we are on track to achieve the expected $2.7 billion of value-add by the "IR effect".

Mr Iswaran (for the Minister for Trade and Industry): Mr Speaker, Sir, 2009 was a challenging year for global tourism which was affected by the twin challenges of the economic downturn and the H1N1 virus. Even so, the Singapore tourism industry delivered a creditable performance. Tourism Receipts (TR) for 2009 was S$12.8 billion, and the value-add generated by the sector was an estimated S$7.3 billion.

This was possible largely because of the close collaboration between STB and the industry over the years to develop a diverse offering of world-class tourism products and experiences in Singapore, as well as the special efforts made to boost the tourism industry during the economic downturn.

The Orchard Road mall enhancement which the Member referred to, for example, has improved visitors' shopping experience and was timely with the addition of more than 100,000 square metres of commercial space along Orchard Road with the opening of three new malls. Besides hardware, efforts have also been made to improve our events space and increase Singapore's mindshare amongst international visitors, and this has helped to enhance Singapore's attractiveness as a top leisure and MICE destination.

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In addition, at the onset of the downturn, STB introduced the S$90 million Building on Opportunity to Strengthen Tourism (BOOST), package in order to cushion the effects of the recession. One hundred and twenty retailers or so partnered STB to bundle and market promotional deals under the "2009 Reasons to Enjoy Singapore" campaign. And there was also enhanced support given to over 300 events and that will generate an additional 1.2 million visitor nights through February 2012.

So, as a result of these efforts, from 2004 to 2009, the tourism sector value-add increased by close to 30% from S$5.7 billion to S$7.3 billion.

With the opening of the IRs this year, STB has forecasted record international arrivals of between 11.5 million and 12.5 million visitors and S$17.5 billion to S$18.5 billion in tourism receipts. Already, STB has reported consecutive record highs in monthly visitor arrivals since January this year.

The IRs will directly bring in about S$12 billion of investments when they are completed, and as I have mentioned earlier, the job recreation element as well – about 16,000 workers have already been employed directly and when they are fully open, the number will rise to 20,000. But these are early days yet and I think the full economic benefits of the IRs can only be properly assessed and realised when both of them are fully open and operating in the city state.

Beyond economic benefits, the developments in Singapore's tourism sector have enhanced our national branding, sharpened Singapore's competitive edge for talent and broadened leisure options for residents. We remain confident that the IRs, together with the

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other offerings that are coming up such as Gardens by the Bay, the International Cruise Terminal and the River Safari wildlife park, will position Singapore as a leading global city in Asia.