MONEY SPENT BY SINGAPOREAN TOURISTS OUTSIDE SINGAPORE

Dr Toh See Kiat asked the Minister for Trade and Industry whether there are any statistics or estimates on how much money is spent by Singaporean tourists outside Singapore each year from 1995 to 1997; and whether these figures, if any, can be broken down into the amounts spent in each country.

Mr Lee Yock Suan: Singaporean tourists spent abroad an estimated $7.2 billion in 1995, $8.2 billion in 1996 and $9.1 billion in 1997. Based on statistics published by various countries and estimates by the Department of Statistics, the amount spent in the ten most popular destinations are as follows:

Spending by Singaporean Tourists in Top 10 Destinations S$ Billion Destination 1995 1996 1997 Malaysia 2.75 3.09 2.98 Indonesia 1.08 1.29 1.50 China 0.62 0.73 0.89 Australia 0.46 0.54 0.63 Thailand 0.53 0.53 0.63 USA 0.47 0.49 0.58 Hong Kong 0.32 0.44 0.44 United Kingdom 0.19 0.22 0.24 Taiwan 0.14 0.14 0.17 Japan 0.06 0.08 0.10

Note: Data includes expenditure by business travellers.

Source: Statistical and tourism publications of the selected

authorities, and DOS' estimates.