Middle East consumers flock to Singapore

29 July 2010

Singapore has seen its number of visitors from the Middle East grow 23.2% year-on-year for the first half of 2010.

The latest figures from the Singapore Tourism Board estimate that the country received nearly 55,000 visitors from the region. The UAE represents Singapore’s largest Middle Eastern market accounting for 23,248 of all visitors. However, the 6.8% year-on-year rise for the UAE was outstripped by Iran (+49.6%) and Kuwait (+84.1%), while Qatar tourists rose 4.1%.

These results coincide with the launch of the ‘YourSingapore’ brand and the opening of two billion dollar resorts including the Marina Bay Sands resort and Southeast Asia’s first Universal Studies in the Resorts World Sentosa.

Jason Ong, area director for Middle East and Africa on the Singapore Tourist Board said: “I am confident that Singapore will continue to attract more and more tourists from the Middle East as they continue to discover Singapore’s array of enriching experiences.”

Josh Colley, London