Nightmares of dropping tourist arrivals haunt hoteliers again

Number of visitors slipped 6.4% in June.

Hoteliers are worried about a lacklustre 2H16 following a 6.4% month-on-month slip in tourist arrivals in June 2016, a tough month they said.

OCBC Investment Research noted that the decline was even worse than that of June 2015 (-3.1%) when the SEA games were held in the Lion City. It believes the hospitality business remains the most challenged sector.

Singapore Tourism Board (STB) revealed a welcoming YoY tourist arrival figure, +12.5% from Jan-Jun 2016, but not for long as growth slowed down with June arrivals ending up at only +7.1% YoY. Visitor days, meanwhile, inched up 4.5% YoY from January to June, and a measly 1.6% YoY increase for June alone.