Tourism spending on sightseeing, entertainment, and gambling in Singapore increased 6% during the first quarter of the year to S$1.498 billion (approximately $1.1 billion), according to official data released by the Singapore Tourism Board.
However, the tourism body, tasked with the promotion of the city-state’s tourism industry, does not provide specific information about the gambling expenditure due to the “commercial sensitivity” of that type of information.
A total of 4.6 million international tourism visits were recorded in Singapore during the first quarter of the year. According to information from the local Tourism Board, travelers from China accounted for the biggest portion of all international visits during the reviewed period. There were 933,000 Chinese nationals to visit Singapore during Q1, up 10% year-on-year. Indonesia with 747,000 and India with 295,000 represented the second and third largest groups of visitors.
Overall tourism spending amounted to S$6.7 billion during the reported three months, down 0.5% year-on-year. Airfares on Singaporean carriers, port taxes, local transportation, business, education, and transit visitors’ expenditure accounted to the largest portion of the overall reported spending in Q1, totaling S$1.801 billion. The reported figure reflected a 22% increase from the same period of 2017.
As mentioned above spending on sightseeing, entertainment, and gambling grew 6% year-on-year to S$1.498 billion. Shopping expenditure, on the other hand, declined 9% to S$1.467 billion, while accommodation and food and beverage spending dropped 13% and 16% to S$1.334 billion and S$589 million, respectively.
Singapore’s Gambling Industry in Q1/H1
There are two operational casinos in the city-state and both are part of larger integrated resorts. Singaporean authorities do not publish information about the revenue the two properties generate, but data from their owners still present a precise picture of the state of the local gambling industry.
Singapore’s two integrated resorts opened doors in the early 2010s. Marina Bay Sands is operated by a subsidiary of Las Vegas giant Las Vegas Sands, while Resorts World Sentosa is owned by Genting Singapore, a subsidiary of Malaysian gaming and hospitality company Genting Group.
Genting Singapore reported gambling revenue of S$675.1 million for the first quarter of the year, up 15.1% year-on-year, and of S$406.1 million for the second quarter of the year, down 8% year-on-year. The casino portion of Resorts World Sentosa thus generated the total amount of S$1.81 billion during the first half of the year.
As for Marina Bay Sands, it reported gambling revenue of S$886.3 million, up 32.5%, for the first quarter of the year, and of S$959.9 million, down 15.5%, for the second quarter of the year. Half-year revenue totaled S$1.8 billion. In other word the two casinos currently operating on the territory of Singapore generated about the same revenue during the first six months of the year.
The city-state’s gambling revenue is expected to grow in 2018, after falling significantly in 2015 and 2016 and showing signs of stabilization in 2017. The growing number of international visitors is expected to help Singapore boost its gambling industry. And with Mainland China being the biggest source of international visits to Singapore, eyes are set on that particular market to drive the coveted rise in gaming revenue.
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