Spending by tourists in Singapore jumped by almost half last year as the opening of the city-state’s first two casino resorts helped attract a record number of visitors.

Tourism revenue soared 49 percent to US$14.8 billion as visitor arrivals grew 20 percent to 11.6 million in 2010.
Singapore Tourism Board CEO Aw Kah Peng said, 

”We’re on target to reach 17 million visitors by 2015.â€

About 80 percent of visitors to Singapore last year came from Asia, led by Indonesia and followed by China, Malaysia, Australia and India. 


The hotel occupancy rate rose 10 percentage points to 86 percent last year while the average room price per night jumped 12 percent to SG$212, the board said. 


Aw said one of the challenges to expanding the tourist sector is improving Singapore’s customer service, which she called “uneven.” 


“There are some good ones and some poor ones,” Aw said.
“Companies need to understand that customer satisfaction affects the bottom line.”
