The Singapore Tourism Board (STB) has said the country’s visitor arrivals and tourism receipts are expected to fall short of this year’s targets.

STB had targeted 10.8 million visitor arrivals and S$15.5 billion in tourism receipts for 2008. But the latest figures for October showed a further decline in the tourism industry.

Visitor arrivals to Singapore last month reached 843,000, a drop of 8.1 per cent compared to October last year.

Indonesia, China, Australia, India and Malaysia were Singapore’s top five visitor-generating markets, accounting for 51 per cent of total visitor arrivals for the month of October.

Singapore’s hotels also saw a 0.3 per cent drop in room revenue compared to October last year.

The average occupancy rate was estimated to reach 82 per cent in October, a decline of 6.8 percentage points from a year ago. But the average room rate last month was estimated at S$241, up 8.4 per cent over October 2007.

Meanwhile, STB said since June this year, Singapore has seen a drop in visitor arrivals, reflecting the impact of the current global economic slowdown on consumer sentiments and discretionary spending.

STB said it will continue its efforts to increase visitor spending during the year-end festive period.

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