I didn’t realise we were such great spenders.
Must be all that cash that S’poreans “save” because of the HDB subsidies,
Thank the PAP govt, not grumble.
Vote wisely.
Archive for the ‘Tourism’ Category
S’pore and other Asian countries that are waiting to welcome Chinese tourists
In China, Economy, Japan, Malaysia, Tourism, Vietnam on 09/01/2023 at 3:10 amFor a little red speck we are punching above our weight in getting Chinese tourists. Must be the casinos (Cambodia too)
No Chinese
In China, Tourism on 06/12/2022 at 4:48 pm1.6bn, is the number of international tourist trips forecast to take place in 2023, still 200m fewer than in 2019 reports int’l media
One in ten tourists was Chinese before the pandemic. Their numbers will double in 2023, to 59m, far below the 155m recorded in 2019.
Revenge travel
In Airlines, Tourism on 20/11/2022 at 8:59 amFurther to SIA & Ho Ching (cont’d), here’s why the skies are bright airlines, hotels and touristy places like Bali and S’pore.
But don’t go cruising: Why going cruising is still a bad idea
Why going cruising is still a bad idea
In Tourism on 13/11/2022 at 5:35 amThere’s still a clear and present danger.
The Majestic Princess, a cruise ship owned by Carnival, docked in Sydney after 800 passengers and crew (about 20% of those on board) came down with covid-19.
Cheap Asean places
In Tourism on 17/10/2022 at 6:07 amSure to find plenty of S’porean cheap skates.
(KL and us are expensive places.)
($= US$)
More ex places
20. Siem Reap, Cambodia 
$28.25
22. Kuta, Bali, Indonesia 
$28.65
33. Phuket, Thailand 
$33.18
41. Boracay Island, Philippines 
$35.99
48. Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia 
$39.53
82. Singapore, Singapore 
$63.40
Chinese no longer tua kee
In China, Tourism on 27/08/2022 at 2:45 pmChinese nationals were the world’s biggest luxury spenders before 2020. But their share has temporarily shrunk during the pandemic.
European luxury outlets have to sell to ang mohs who spend less. No Chinese tourists. Chinese buying in China.
Our version of “sulfur and fire”
In Public Administration, Tourism, Uncategorized on 22/08/2022 at 9:04 amSodom and Gomorrah were destroyed by the merciful and benevolent God of the Old Testament by way of “sulfur and fire” because of their wickedness. The wickedness was believed to be anal sex.
Could we go the way of Sodom and Gomorrah, now that the PAP govt will decriminalise sex between men?
Our dear leader last night told a rally that his PAP govt will repeal section 377A of the Penal Code. This colonial-era law punishes acts of “gross indecency” between men with up to two years in jail. The law is not “proactively enforced as PM once put it. So why bother?
Because the LGBTs have money and will be a new source of tourist dollars?
Btw, our “destruction” will come by way of higher inflation, slower growth and a GST rise.
Swiss tourism is suffering from Chinese and Indian absence
In Tourism on 24/08/2021 at 6:46 amFun fact Swiss tourism contributes about 4% to Swiss GDP while watchmaking only contributes 2% to Swiss GDP.
Why SIA and other airlines, and tourist centric businesses need to donate US$50bn ASAP
In Airlines, Tourism on 23/05/2021 at 3:37 pmOnly US$50bn needed to reopen world by mid 2022
The covid-19 pandemic could be ended by mid-2022, if donor countries were willing to cough up a combined $50bn, according to the International Monetary Fund. The sum is the estimated cost of vaccinating 60% of the world’s population. It pales in comparison with the $16trn that governments have already spent supporting people and businesses during the pandemic.
Economist
BS that is S’porediscovery vouchers
In Public Administration, Tourism on 13/04/2021 at 10:47 amLike all adult S’poreans, my mum and I each got S$100 of the above,
I was planning to let them expire unused because I was told they were complicated to use and required me to spend $: seems to be like co-pay . Recently, I was told that I could donate them to charity and my FB friends gave me the links.
Turns out to be pretty complicated.
Worse my mum needs to have a Singpass to donate (let alone use the vouchers for herself) .
Given her age (97 and counting) it never made sense for her to have a Singpass account.
So I’m forced to let the vouchers expire.
Remember the above when you read that the PAP govt KPKBing that S’poreans not using the vouchers.
Tourism: Look on the bright side
In Economy, Financial competency, Tourism on 23/03/2020 at 7:35 amIn Tourism: Where Covid-19 really hurts us, I pointed out that the drop in tourism will hurt the economy. But, looking on the bright side, things no longer that expensive for us locals.:
Cities that get a large part of their income from tourism could become cheaper as their economies shrink and prices are driven down.
The impact of the coronavirus has shaken the world economy, with the travel and tourism industries among the hardest hit. Hong Kong and Singapore are two of the cities that could see a big drop in revenue as demand for leisure activities, restaurants and accommodation plummets. This weaker demand could drive down prices, making these cities cheaper for their inhabitants.
https://www.bbc.com/news/business-51922267
True, things no longer that expensive for us locals. But got money to spend or not?
Tourism: Where Covid-19 really hurts us
In China, Economy, Tourism on 18/03/2020 at 6:28 amThe govt last month proposed a S$6.4bn ($4.6bn) programme to counter the outbreak’s economic impact. The package was announced a few days after S’pore slashed its growth forecast by a percentage point to -0.5% to 1.5% from 0.5 to 2%. Another package is on the way according to the millionaire ministers.
I’ve pointed out areas where the impact of China’s virus problem here is minimal:
We not reliant on China for manufactured gds
Where S’pore is not too exposed to China
But tourism is different: China is the top source of visitors to Singapore, and accounts for a fifth of arrivals. In Asean, only Thailand gets more, about a quarter of arrivals.
And tourism is important to us:
International tourism accounted for 4.1% of Singapore’s national GDP in 2017, with a direct contribution of $17.7 billion. The percentage of tourism’s contribution to Singapore’s GDP is projected to rise to 4.4% in 2028.
https://www.budgetdirect.com.sg/travel-insurance/research/singapore-tourism-statistics
Despite what the brokers are saying about hospitality stocks, avoid the sector.
PRC tourists sleeping on the streets?
In Economy, Tourism on 05/12/2019 at 3:59 amSingapore’s tourism receipts declined 3.0% in the first half of 2019 despite a 1.3% increase in the number of international visitors. I note that China’s tourist receipts were down 10% despite visitor arrivals being up 7% in Q219.
Are the PRC tourists sleeping rough, in the streets? Because accommodation spending was the main drag in Tourism Receipts, with the sector suffering a 13% decline in the first half of 2019 compared to the same period in 2018.
Whatever, we seem to be attracting the low quality Chinese tourists, not those who shop for LVMH, Richemont (owns Cartier) or Kering (owner of Gucci) products. And who don’t even patronise the slot machines at the casinos.
They all go to Geylang to patronise other PRCs?
HK protests affect Swiss cos
In China, Hong Kong, Tourism on 04/09/2019 at 4:06 amThe protests have led to share price falls for Swiss watchmakers Richemont and Swatch Group. They had fallen after previous unrest in 2014 but then recovered.
It’s all about tourists (especially from the mainland) buying their stuff: Why ang moh luxury brands lick Chinese p***ies.
How China is squeezing Trump’s balls
In China, Tourism on 18/08/2019 at 4:27 amTens of thousands of Chinese tourists are shunning the country as a holiday destination, and companies from Tiffany to Hyatt Hotels are counting the cost.
FT
It goes to say US business love tourists from China because on average they spend U$7,000 per including the costs of flights and accommodation, according to data from the US Travel Association.
After several years of double-digit growth, however, Chinese visitor numbers rose only 4% in 2017 and last year they declined for the first time since 2003. There were 2.99m arrivals in 2018, a drop of 6% from 2017. This trend is continuing this summer. US executives say the slowdown is weighing on profits.
Trump will cry “Uncle” when retailers renting space in Trump properties go bust.
PAP govt propaganda on IRs has worked
In Casinos, Tourism on 07/07/2019 at 1:49 pmA British schoolboy coming here to compete in a literature quiz wants to see “Marina Sands and the Gardens by the Bay as well as a trip to Universal Studios”. https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-northern-ireland-48840398?intlink_from_url=https://www.bbc.com/news/education&link_location=live-reporting-story
Does he, his parents or teachers know that Marina Sands is actually a casino and Universal Studios is beside another casino?
Trumpets pls: Formula E circus coming to town
In Tourism on 09/05/2019 at 5:08 amThe constructive, nation-building media that S’pore will stage a Formula E race here next yr.
Nice to know someone high up reads me. In 2013, I wrote the following:
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S’pore did the first Kiddie Games and overspent for no apparent gain.
Why not try Formula E?
There will be 10 teams and 20 drivers racing on roads – not racetracks – in 10 cities, with a preliminary line-up that includes Los Angeles, Berlin, Rio de Janeiro, London, Buenos Aires and Beijing …
Jean Todt, president of the FIA, called Formula E “a vision of the future”. And this comes from a man who built his reputation in rally car racing and then as head of F1’s most famous competitor, Ferrari.
He told the BBC: “F1 is the pinnacle of motor racing, but there is plenty of space for other championships, from endurance racing to touring car, to karting – and definitely Formula E.”
He rejected claims that Formula E is simply a promotional exercise to improve motorsport’s image.
OK, we got to divert traffic etc, one more time a yr. But this is new and innovative.
Formula E the new F1?/ Why can’t MSM report F1 event like this?
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Related post explaining why there are gains to be made from staging events like F1 and Formula E: LKY answered Ngiam Tong Dow’s F1 question
M’sia getting “peanuts”; S’pore getting billions
In Casinos, Economy, Malaysia, Tourism on 05/04/2019 at 4:25 amIn M’sian casino operator kanna do NS by Tun?, I speculated that Genting M’sia was forced to buy a yacht by the M’sian govt for US$126m when others were bidding much lower prices.
Here’s the real reason why: Genting will spend S$4.5bn to improve the facilities on Sentosa and pay more tax here, all this when Tun is trying to bully and intimidate us. So maybe Genting was paying US$126m to keep him from getting upset that a M’sian company was going to spend billions here and not in M’sia?
How theS$4.5bn will be spent:
The new attractions of Super Nintendo World and Minion Park, spanning over 164,000 sqm, will be gradually rolled out at the Universal Studios Singapore every year from 2020 and completed around 2025.
Minion Park, inspired by the Despicable Me movie franchise, will take over the Madagascar zone, now designated for rides and shows tied to the animated movie of the same name. Both Minion Park and Super Nintendo World, based on Nintendo’s popular games and characters, will feature new rides and attractions.
The SEA Aquarium will also be expanded to take over the Maritime Experiential Museum, to create a new Singapore Oceanarium.
Apart from these, RWS’ waterfront promenade will be redeveloped to include a free public attraction featuring a nightly show and multi-purpose event zone that can be adapted for different festivals and events, as well as new dining options.
RWS will also introduce a driverless transport system across the Sentosa Boardwalk, which links to VivoCity mall in Harbourfront.
As for the increased taxes
a tiered structure for casino taxes will be introduced after the current moratorium ends in February 2022. Currently, there is a flat tax rate of 5 per cent for Gross Gaming Revenue (GGR) made through premium gaming and 15 per cent for GGR made through mass gaming.
Premium gaming refers to the GGR made through players who open a deposit account with a credit balance of no less than S$100,000. Mass gaming covers players who fall outside of this category.
With the change, the first S$2.4 billion of GGR from premium gaming will be taxed at 8 per cent, while GGR which exceeds S$2.4 billion will be taxed at 12 per cent.
For mass gaming, the first $3.1 billion of GGR will be taxed at 18 per cent while GGR which exceeds $3.1 billion will be taxed at 22 per cent.
In the context of all these goodies for S’pore, paying US$126 to M’sia is “peanuts”.
Btw the price of Genting S’pore (owned by controlling shareholder of Genting M’sia) fell: investors and analysts are not happy about the taxes, and capital expenditure that have spent.
Changi Airport: an int’l first
In Airlines, Infrastructure, Tourism on 27/01/2019 at 4:50 amChangi Airport will be the world’s largest and most complex airport to adopt a next-generation control tower set-up:
Gone is the traditional wall of glass affording a 360-degree view of runways, taxiways and gleaming jets. In its place is a panoramic digital screen that the Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore says provides a similar perspective. And the staff can see far more than they would with their own eyes. Advanced camera and video-stitching technologies allow tracking, panning, tilting and zooming in on a particular plane or area.
Nikkei Asian Review
More
For months, air traffic controllers and engineers have been holed up in a windowless room at Singapore’s Changi Airport. This is a prototype of the control “tower” of the future.
[…]
The team continues to test the system, which processes a range of digital data to promote efficient air traffic management. If all goes well, Changi will be the world’s largest and most complex airport to adopt this next-generation control tower set-up. The aviation authority is also turning to artificial intelligence to help the airport run smoothly.
Coming to Bangkok, not S’pore
In Tourism on 29/09/2018 at 8:13 amThe Mall Group, Thailand’s leading retail and entertainment complex developer, and AEG, the world’s leading sports and live entertainment company, recently jointly announced a strategic partnership that is destined to make Thai retail history and will redefine the retail entertainment experience in Bangkok with a 10 billion baht plus investment in two world-class arenas – “EM Live and BANGKOK ARENA” – that will anchor two new entertainment districts.
The Mall Group and AEG say they are joining forces with the
shared vision of revolutionizing the country’s business, retail and entertainment centres, placing Bangkok and Thailand at the forefront of world retail innovation, entertainment events, Meetings, Incentives, Conferences and Exhibitions (MICE) and new lifestyle experiences.
I tot that AEG would prefer S’pore given we got the casinos and F1. And the otters.
Gd that PM makes time for travel vlogger
In Economy, Tourism on 20/09/2018 at 1:25 pmBut first, a story about a Crazy Rich African planning to bring US$16.5m in cash to shop here.
When on a private visit to Brazil by Equatorial Guinea’s VP
Police found $1.5m in cash and watches worth an estimated $15m in two bags, the other 17 bags had clothes, says local news site Globo.
Equatorial Guinea’s embassy told the Brazilian police in a statement that the money was for the VP’s use on an onward trip to Singapore, while the watches – engraved with his initials – were for his personal use.
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Last year The Economist reported on Mr Obiang’s flashy lifestyle in a report titled “Instagram playboy is also the vice-president of Equatorial Guinea”. It featured pictures of the vice-president showing off his expensive cars and mansions.
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So nothing wrong PM and foreign affairs minister spending time with a vlogger with a huge global following. It helps bring S’pore to the attention of people like Mr Obiang, people who spend, spend, spend. It also helps attract lesser spenders too. Orchard Rd certainly needs help.
But then given TOC’s support for Tan Wah Piow and PJ Thum (PJ Thum cares about S’pore?), maybe TOC “does not wish S’pore well”?
TOC’s double standard in praising Tun for seeing Wah Piow, PJ and friends while dissing PM and VivianB for meeting vlogger is another piece of evidence that TOC “does not wish S’pore well”?
What do you think?
Let’s thank Trump and Xi for rowing
In China, Tourism on 01/09/2018 at 5:29 amBig league conference moved here from Beijing
Fallout from the trade war between the United States and China has prompted billionaire media executive Michael Bloomberg, the former mayor of New York City, to relocate a conference of global business and political leaders from Beijing to Singapore.
The event, touted as a rival to Davos, the elite annual conclave in Switzerland, is to take place in Singapore over two days in the first week of November.
Mr Bloomberg made the decision after a Chinese partner last week asked the organisers in New York to postpone the event, according to people with knowledge of the planning.
PAP govt must be doing shumething right, right?
Must be cheap skate cybernuts visting Johor
In Indonesia, Malaysia, Tourism, Vietnam on 18/06/2018 at 4:14 amDiagram shows that M’sia is even worse than Vietnam in not fleecing tourists: must all those freeloading TRE, TOC readers and other cheap skates taking adv of weak ringgit. Tun will not be happy. 
What China did to Korea, it can do to us
In China, Tourism on 12/07/2017 at 1:51 pmOur PM should be careful of upsetting the Chinese. They’ll stop sending tourists to our casinos and S’pore generally. This year
China is on track to becoming Singapore’s top tourist market, latest figures from the Singapore Tourism Board (STB) show.
Arrivals from China jumped 36 per cent to some 2.64 million visitors from January to November last year, compared with the same period in 2015.
ST in January
If the numbers keep up 18% of tourists will be from PRC.
But Korea shows what happen when China is angry
The Korea Tourism Organisation (KTO) predicted there could be 4.7 million fewer foreign tourists this year than in 2016 – a drop of about 27%.
China has banned travel agencies from selling package tours to Korea in protest at Seoul allowing a US missile defence system.
Visitors from China made up 46.8% of tourists in South Korea last year.
It’s the People, stupid
In Economy, Tourism on 18/04/2017 at 1:50 pmThere’s been a lot of BS and angst about the death of Orchard Road as an “in place”.
A lady Viv Won got it right when ashe posted this comment on Facebook
Orchard used to be the IT place for urban displays of modernity and pop culture until the suburban centers and other hubs sprang up. I think it’s the G overrating form over function, Orchard has lost its function: MBS took over high end retail; people can meet their Everyday social, biological and service needs at regional centres; good hotels are spreading out of the Orchard sphere so short term tourists aren’t trapped there; there’s much local flavour and life elsewhere, in different pockets of the city like Ann Siang Hill, Boat Quay or MBFC, Robertson Quay, etc. Orchard Rd malls are like upmarket clones of things you can find everywhere else (except Far East Shopping Centre). People can’t exert their identity in a place that imposes its own overarching identity upon everything else.
It’s the People that make a place hip, not the decor or the planned festivities or whatnot. If they had to learn something from what was Mohd Sultan Rd in the late 90s, it should be that a place gets its culture from the people who gather there, for whatever reason (refurbished go-downs make great clubs). So there’s really not much reason to go to Orchard when there are so many more interesting and authentic places to hang out with people you consider to be cool
🙂 then there’s always Hong Kong.
Same too like other creative industries like finance and technology.
The PAP just doesn’t get it. Remember its attempt to make S’pore a leading stem cell research centre?
Can’t stop PRCs from making $
In China, Tourism on 09/12/2016 at 4:09 pmLast year, Facebook fired an enterprising Chinese employee who played to the unmet demand* and charged one group of tourists $20 each to tour the campus and eat in the company’s cafeteria. Now, the only thing notable for tourists to see is its thumbs-up sign.
NYT
*Chinese tourists wanting to tour FB’s campus and other Silicon Valley tech campuses.
Avoid this Asean airport
In Airlines, Tourism on 23/04/2016 at 6:05 amPart of the ceiling at a terminal at Ninoy Aquino collapsed on passengers earlier this year, while just this month thousands of travellers were stranded and left in the dark for hours due to a blackout. The government has said that Manila will have to wait two decades for a new airport, which may be part funded by Japan’s aid agency.
FT
VivianB’s other folly: F1
In Economy, Tourism on 20/09/2015 at 11:20 amDr Chee rightly put down the guy who sneered at the elderly poor (Pioneer Package was PM’s way of saying sorry?) by reminding everyone who was responsible for overspending on the Kiddie Games by S$300m. (Btw, we never got to find out about the truth about the food poisoning of volunteers as promised did we?)
But lest we forgot, F1 was VivuanB’s idea too.
And it’s been another folly. Worse, S’pore is still paying the costs of having F1.
Singapore pays US$65m (S$83.3m) a year to bring F1 here. Only Malaysia and Abu Dhabi pay more.(BBC report).
Monaco is the only place that doesn’t pay.
So our “iconic” race is not cheap. Remember this when you read how much money F1 brings here.
The cost for organizing each race is approximately S$150 million dollars, with the government paying about 60% of the costs. And the fee is 55.6% of the cost). The government claims that each race generates about S$150 million in tourism receipts. So sounds like breakeven to me only, without taking into account the inconvenience to commuters and the lost sales at Suntec*.
https://atans1.wordpress.com/2014/10/05/f1-only-two-other-countries-pay-higher-fees/
And
It’s not as though there is a huge savings gap. In fact it’s more expensive to stage a street race, even without taking account of the economic losses.
However, the annual running costs of a street race are greater than those of one on a permanent circuit: temporary grandstands need to be built and the roads need to be upgraded to F1’s high safety standards. The biggest single expense for the operators is staffing (c£10m), followed by rental of grandstands (c£8m) and construction of safety barriers and fencing (c£5m).
In total, the annual operating cost of an F1 street race is in the region of £36m. Then comes the hosting fee, which is paid to the F1 rights holder. The average hosting fee came to £17m in 2011 but the sting in the tail of the contracts is that the price accelerates by as much as 10 per cent every year. Most new F1 race contracts are for ten years, so by the end of the agreement the annual fee comes to around £40m thanks to the escalator clause in the contract. That means that over the ten-year duration the bill for hosting fees totals an estimated £272m (see below) with the cost of running the races coming to £360m. That makes a total over ten years of more than £600m.
… With annual running costs that are far lower than those for a street race, the total cost of building a Grand Prix circuit and hosting an F1 race over a ten-year period comes in at around £560m. But promoters need to dig deep to fund that initial track construction… http://www.babusinesslife.com/Ideas/Features/The-cost-of-hosting-a-Formula-1-Grand-Prix.html … how much the key elements of a brand new Grand Prix circuit are likely to cost… [£164m]
So the difference is spending S$80m more over 10 yrs to “save” on the cost of building a permanent track. Of course, I ‘m assuming the cost of the circuit land is zero or nominal. But this being S’pore where giving away the land for public housing would be “raiding the reserves” (Mah Bow Tan), this is a non-starter. Anyway the usual suspects would shout “corruption” even if the govt was willing to lease land at a nominal price.
So, the end result is that the “little people” who have to commute by way of public transport, get screwed, So waz new?
https://atans1.wordpress.com/2013/09/08/cheaper-to-build-f1-track/
And in a meritocracy, he’s still a minister? Can sneer at the elderly poor, overspend, miscalculate badly benefits and still be a minister? Why liddat PM?
Btw, the people who come for F1 https://atans1.wordpress.com/2013/09/21/msians-pinoys-indons-love-f1-spore/
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*So how abt sharing the benefits with the losers? Especially since F1 will bring S$1b “additional value-add” for economy, says Iswaran. (S’pore expects expenses to drop about 15% to 20%, according to the Ministry of Trade and Industry. The cost of the race is about $150 million, with the government co-funding 6o% of the amount, reminded S. Iswaran, “Singapore’s second trade minister, who’s responsible for developing the tourism industry”. What he didn’t say is that hotels have to pay a special levy of 30% on room rates during F1 period, if they are “track-side” hotels and 20% for the others. )
Compensate the retailers at Suntec City and those who work in the city? Tax rebates for them? If no such sharing of the benefits, then it’s some private profits, and big state windfall (via taxes and other levies), and public inconvenience and some private losses. Readers might also like to know that it costs at least US$120m to build a dedicated F1 circuit (excluding, it seems, land costs), so by inconveniencing commuters and some retailers, the government is passing on the one-off cost of building a F1 track to some S’poreans annually. Whoever said there isn’t a free lunch? More reason to offer compensation.
https://atans1.wordpress.com/2012/10/01/f1-sharing-the-1bn-in-value-add-with-the-losers/
PRCs spend more here than in HK
In Casinos, China, Economy, Hong Kong, Tourism on 27/06/2015 at 4:30 am
Casinos
F1- Only two other countries pay higher fees
In Economy, Tourism on 05/10/2014 at 6:07 pmSingapore pays US$65m (S$83.3m) a year to bring F1 here. Only Malaysia and Abu Dhabi pay more.(BBC report).
Monaco is the only place that doesn’t pay.
So our “iconic” race is not cheap. Remember this when you read how much money F1 brings here.
The cost for organizing each race is approximately S$150 million dollars, with the government paying about 60% of the costs. And the fee is 55.6% of the cost). The government claims that each race generates about S$150 million in tourism receipts. So sounds like breakeven to me only, without taking into account the inconvenience to commuters and the lost sales at Suntec.
Worse, ticket sales are falling. More than 84,450 tickets were sold for the 2014 Formula 1 Singapore Grand Prix, slightly lower than last year but the third highest attendance since the inaugural race in 2008.Back in 2008, 100,000 tickets were snapped up as Singapore successfully pulled off the world’s first F1 night race on a street circuit.
MH370 fallout hurts us too
In Economy, Indonesia, Malaysia, Tourism on 06/04/2014 at 4:49 amThe incompetency of the M’sian defence officials (no explanation yet on why aircraft were not scrambled when aircraft veered off course) and there are allegations that the veering off course was not detected forb hours), and the perceived failures may affect us.
Demand for inbound tours featuring Singapore and Malaysia could see some ripple effect, following the backlash that Malaysia has received in China …
SA Tours’ manager for inbound tours, Dan Tan, said that he has seen a 40 per cent decrease in demand for such combined packages. Mr Tan said that the bulk of the drop comes from Chinese tourists, as demand from tourists in other countries have held steady.
At this time of the year, SA Tours usually receives enquiries from Chinese tourists for large tour groups of 80 to 100 people for the mid-year holiday period. However, for now, the company has received enquiries only from small groups of three to five people.
Mr Tan said that while business has already declined because of a weaker global economy, he believes the MH370 incident is another reason behind the drop in numbers for combined inbound tours. “There’s a lot of debate online between Malaysians and the Chinese, and the Chinese are saying they won’t come to Malaysia again,” said Mr Tan.
To assure tourists, Golden Travel Services’ managing director, Cindy Chng, has told them that travelling to Malaysia is still safe, that the incident “should have no linkage with the place itself” … no cancellations thus far from Chinese tourists coming in July for combined tours … they have expressed some concerns. “They may not have a good impression of Malaysia and don’t want to travel there,” …
She added that she is open to making changes for tourists if they want to forgo the Malaysia leg of the tour. [Package with Bali leh]
While CTC Travel does not have combined tour packages … said that he expects such sentiments to cause a drop in Chinese tourists coming to Singapore. “We’re pretty close neighbours, and people tend to link us together,” …does not think the impact will be huge … CTC … not been affected much as the company does not have many Chinese customers and focuses more on outbound travel.
Timesworld Travel & Educational Tours and Chan Brothers said that the incident has not impacted combined inbound tours, possibly because they run more corporate and educational tours which could be less affected.
But Timesworld … said that they could face a 10 to 20 per cent drop in demand for the peak season. People are still unsure and are waiting for others to take the first step, she said.
Tour operators say that the number of Chinese travellers on combined tours in the upcoming months will depend on how the situation is handled and resolved …
(BT 5 April)
LKY answered Ngiam Tong Dow’s F1 question
In Public Administration, Tourism on 06/10/2013 at 5:18 amNgiam Tong Dow said: “My favourite topic — I’m on public record — is Formula 1 (F1). We’re paying the Englishmen to stage the F1 night race here. Why should we use taxpayers’ money to pay for these races? I have asked this question publicly, but the MOF has never addressed it.”
Maybe MOF didn’t, but LKY did juz before F1 came to S’pore, LKY said, when it was first suggested to him yrs ago, he didn’t believe it as something that could contribute to S’pore’s development. He was only convinced about its development potential, after F1 became massively popular and had already gone to KL. By then, Berniewas tua kee, with every aspiring global city wanting to stage a race, and many of them had cash pouring out of their ears.
BTW, the S’pore organisers were very clear that they couldn’t make money without govt help.
Taz history. There is an alternative on the horizon that S’pore should be trying to take advantage of:
… all-electric grand prix called Formula E, which gets under way in London in September 2014. Other races are planned in Bangkok, Beijing, Berlin, Buenos Aires, Los Angeles, Miami, Monaco, Putrajaya, Rio de Janeiro and Rome.
…
Some big names have already signed up to support Formula E, including DHL, a logistics giant, and Qualcomm, an American technology group. But the commercial potential, and the ability to draw a large audience, will need to be proved before Formula E becomes a technological race. Then, provided the teams can come up with better batteries, electric motors and power electronics, electric racing cars really could, one day, mount a serious challenge to the petrol-heads’ F1 cars.
http://www.economist.com/blogs/economist-explains/2013/09/economist-explains-14
In addition, to not paying much (maybe very little), seeing Formula E is a new brand, as the circuit here slows the F1 cars down considerably, a Formula E race here would be gd for Formula E to camouflage its main weakness: slower cars. The twisting, turning race would be juz as exciting for racing fans. Heck, we might even get it for free.
The Marina Bay Street Circuit is the second slowest 23-turn circuit on the calendar after Monaco, with an average speed of 172kph. Approximately 46% of the lap is taken at full throttle, compared with over 75% at Monza.
The twisting layout is hard on the brakes, while the gearboxes also take a beating, with around 80 gear changes per lap.
Drivers will complete 61 laps in the race – in 30C heat and 70% humidity – which takes a little under two hours to complete.
A change to the circuit this year is at turn 10 – dubbed the Singapore Sling. The original layout, a three-turn chicane, was seen as dangerous by drivers with Kimi Raikkonen crashing there in 2008 and Lewis Hamilton describing it as ‘the worst corner in Formula 1′.
This year, it has been turned into a single-apex left-hand bend and, without the chicane, lap times are expected to be lower. BBC report
https://atans1.wordpress.com/2013/09/22/formula-e-the-new-f1-why-cant-msm-report-f1-event-like-this/
Since we staged the first Kiddie Games, overspending in the process, why don’t we join this circuit? True in addition to F1, it would inconvenient us for another few days in a yr, but what the heck. Let’s try it. BTW Bernie is pretty relaxed about Formula E competing with F1, so he shouldn’t object.
Format of race: Each of the ten teams will have two drivers. But unlike F1, each driver will have two cars. Hence 40 SRT-01Es in all are being built by Spark Racing Technologies, a French firm, in collaboration with Renault and a number of other motorsports companies, including McLaren, Michelin and Williams. With present battery technology the cars will run out of juice after about 25 minutes in a race that is supposed to last around an hour. So each driver must make at least two pit-stops to change cars—sprinting 100 metres between each car in the old Le Mans style. As an added twist, one of the cars will be a sprint version capable of greater acceleration while the other will have more endurance. Flat out, the SRT-01Es will reach a top speed of around 225kph (140mph), whereas F1 cars top 300kph on some circuits. But on the short, twisting closed-off city streets which will be used by the electric racers, they will be spectacularly quick. And because of the instant torque provided by electric motors, they can accelerate to 100kph in just three seconds. Nor will they be quiet, because of the sound made by the cars’ tyres, electric motors and aerodynamics at speed.
F1: Sharing the $1bn in value add with the losers?
In Economy, Media, Tourism on 01/10/2012 at 5:46 amSingaporeans must accept F1 race as necessary event: MTI (The Trade and Industry Ministry says the community must accept the Singapore Formula One race as a necessary event in Singapore. This is because the race has reaped benefits such as enhancing Singapore’s image and bringing in more tourism receipts.)
And
Teo Ser Luck: Singaporeans must accept F1 as a necessary event
So how abt sharing the benefits with the losers? Especially since F1 will bring S$1b “additional value-add” for economy, says Iswaran. (S’pore expects expenses to drop about 15% to 20%, according to the Ministry of Trade and Industry. The cost of the race is about $150 million, with the government co-funding 6o% of the amount, reminded S. Iswaran, “Singapore’s second trade minister, who’s responsible for developing the tourism industry”. What he didn’t say is that hotels have to pay a special levy of 30% on room rates during F1 period, if they are “track-side” hotels and 20% for the others. )
Compensate the retailers at Suntec City and those who work in the city? Tax rebates for them? If no such sharing of the benefits, then it’s some private profits, and big state windfall (via taxes and other levies), and public inconvenience and some private losses. Readers might also like to know that it costs at least US$120m to build a dedicated F1 circuit (excluding, it seems, land costs), so by inconveniencing commuters and some retailers, the government is passing on the one-off cost of building a F1 track to some S’poreans annually. Whoever said there isn’t a free lunch? More reason to offer compensation.
BTW, before the race, our constructive, nation-building media gave the impression that a deal-breaker was S’pore’s demand that it be charged a nominal fee for the race (Monaco pays nothing because until S’pore’s F1, it was the only F1 race on public roads.) Well it seems, S’pore was told to f***off and it got buggered: “Ecclestone refused to confirm the cost of the new contract, although he did hint that negotiators for the Singapore race had failed to extract a Monaco-style race fee exemption. It is thought that they argued for one, pointing out how successful the race has been for sponsors. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/motorsport/formulaone/9560875/Singapore-Grand-Prix-secures-its-place-on-F1-circuit-after-organisers-agree-a-new-five-year-contract.html
Mr Iswaran only said there has been “a discount in franchise fees for the new contract”: whatever happened to the deal-breaker? The silence from our media on the issue is deafening.
Seems that Bernie said that the Thais willing to stage a F1 night race in Bangkok if he pulled out of S’pore.
Related post: https://atans1.wordpress.com/2011/09/25/is-f1-worth-it-updated-with-2011-estimate-of-additional-tourism-revenue/ BTW not seen any details of estimated 2012 revenues despite all the talk of benefits.
STB & MDA missed a trick here
In Tourism on 15/08/2012 at 6:52 amOne of the reasons given for the staging of the Kiddie Games (Youth Olympic Games) and the annual inconvenience that is F1, is that it promotes S’pore as a place to visit; even if it costs the taxpayer serious money. F1 loses money for us. No wonder, S’pore is still trying to get the fees lowered if it agrees to stage race permanently. Minister’s comments last yr and earlier this yr, the govmin denied it had agreed terms.
Well if promotion is what we are after, how come the various govmin agencies and in particular the STB and the Media Development Authority division that promotes films missed getting “Supercapitalist” made here. A just released independent movie, “Supercapitalist”, has HK as a backdrop. It opened last “Friday in New York, and later in Washington, San Francisco and Los Angeles, and is also available on video on demand on cable and on iTunes,” reports NYT’s DealBook.
Or they didn’t even know this movie was being made? Or they knew, but tot the subsidies it would need to come here were “peanuts” to the subsidies shelled out for the Kiddie Games and F1. Or see unknown producers and directors no ak?
“F” word banned by PUB?
In Economy, Infrastructure, Media, Political governance, Tourism, Wit on 27/12/2011 at 6:03 amTrust a former President’s Scholar to come up with the solution to prevent floods in Singapore. VivianB got PUB to rename “flooding” as “ponding”. Why didn’t Yaacob do this instead of calling a flood a 50-yr event. Well there were two 50-year events in less than two months last year.
Seriously, I don’t think it was VivianB’s idea. Likely to be the new CEO of PUB that is behind the renaming. He after all blames us for the floods, saying S’poreans took things for granted*. I say to him, “Don’t try to deflect blame like SMRT’s CEO who told us to guard the trains when there was a security break-in. PUB did not do it’s job.
Ain’t this renaming juz daft and misleading? PUB said of the heavy rain last Friday “there was no flooding at Orchard Road … However, water ponded at the open area of Liat Towers, the underpass between Lucky Plaza and Ngee Ann City, and the basement of Lucky Plaza due to the sustained heavy downpour”.
Sorry PUB, these places were flooded. The ponds were at least ankle deep, at Starbucks, customers walked on chairs to get out, and shops had to close**.
I’m glad that MediaCorp didn’t buy into this euphemism. They called these “flash floods”, as they used to. As to ST, they tried to be truthful, while keeping VivianB and PUB onside. No wonder SPH is such a good dividend payer, while unlisted MediaCorp continues to struggle financially.
If VivianB and PUB were doing their very best to ensure that tourists are not scared off (Remember that the retail trade is tourist dependent to keep profitable and that the overall economy is heading for a slowdown, if not a recession), they failed as far as Malaysia is concerned. Bernama reported:
Flash Floods In Several Parts Of Singapore Including Orchard Road
Flash floods hits several areas of Singapore including the republic’s most famous shopping alley, Orchard Road, following prolonged heavy rain in the southern and central parts of the city state Friday …
Nice try guys. But better for the economy, retailers and S’pore’s image if the PUB improved its “ponding” prevention measures, not try to play word games.
—-
*”But maybe we have also become victims of own success. Because we have been so successful, alleviating floods, that we have not seen a flood situation for a long time. So when it came, it did catch Singaporeans by surprise.” Channel News Asia
**How Today reported the situation
The underpass between Lucky Plaza and Ngee Ann City remained closed yesterday evening. Some shop owners at the ground floor of Lucky Plaza said that water levels were ankle-high, but the situation this time was better than during previous floods.
At retail store Giordano, store in-charge Lyn Molino estimated losses of up to S$7,000 and said that customers were not only deterred by the wet floors but also by the stench from yesterday’s floodwaters. “This is supposed to be a good opportunity for us to have extra earnings but it has all been affected,” she said.
The floodwaters also washed out business at Starbucks and fast-food restaurant Wendy’s, among other establishments, at Liat Towers. Wendy’s manager (marketing and branding) Seng Woon Fa estimated losses of about 60 per cent of the day’s earnings. “We are now just busy cleaning up and hope to resume business as soon as possible … we are still checking if any equipment is spoiled,” he said.
F1: Does the government know?
In Economy, Tourism on 22/10/2011 at 7:06 amEarlier this year News Corporation, a media group, and Exor, the family investment firm of the Agnelli family, which also owns Ferrari, announced their interest in making a joint bid for Formula One. (News Corp is no longer interested given its problems in the UK.)
They briefed that the sport was losing its ground. Viewership is falling, though the business rakes in ever-growing piles of cash from doing deals with governments to host Grand Prix races. Mr Ecclestone (the current supremo) has no successor trained to take on the difficult task of balancing the competing needs of teams, sponsors, broadcasters and circuits.
If viewership is falling, and if there are succession problems, waz the point of staging rsace, unless the cost of staging one comes down?
F1: S’pore will not rush into contract decision: Iswaran
In Economy, Tourism on 26/09/2011 at 11:42 amMr Iswaran, junior trade minister said: “We have engaged independent consultants, because we want to make sure that going forward, we have a clear idea of what is the value proposition of the F1 for Singapore…from the tourism point of view, from an economic spin-off point of view and a social point of view.
‘My own sense is that we need to have some kind of closure on this, certainly before next year’s race. But I’m hoping we can find a mutually beneficial agreement sooner rather than later.”
This was only reported in ST Online. ST carried an article on its front page praising the economics and other aspects of the race. Headline read, “Stunning S’pore race a big winner” .
Is F1 worth it? Updated with 2011 estimate of additional tourism revenue
In Economy, Tourism on 25/09/2011 at 9:48 am| Year | Cost (SGD M) | Additional TourismRevenue(SGD M) | Profit/ Loss(SGD M) | Margin over Costs (%) |
| 2008 | 150 | 168 | 18 | 12 |
| 2009 | 150 | 93 | -57 | -38 |
| 2010 | 150 | 160 | 10 | 6.67 |
| 2011 | 150 | 100 (Estimate) | -50 | – 33.33 |
Totals 600 521 -79 -52.67
(Click the headline to see full table if you are reading from the Home page.)
Doesn’t look gd does it? Looks bad if you ask me. Revenue (estimated albeit) drastically down this year.
[Update on 26 September 2011 7.15am: ST headline “Stunning S’pore race a big winner” and reporting that “race has retained its lustre and won over new fans”, is at variance with the estimated drop in revenue (see table) that SunT reported yesterday.]
Note: As much as 60% of the S$150m a year is being invested by the Singapore government through the Singapore Tourism Board (STB) in a bid to attract more visitors here,
Any wonder why “intangible rewards” matter. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-15015158
But shouldn’t intagible costs be taken into consideration, which makes things worse. Danny the SDP Bear’s pals may not be wrong.
(Cost and revenue numbers taken from BBC link above, except for 2011 revenue, taken from ST. Note ST quotes a revenue figure of S$98m for 2009.)
Is F1 worth it?
In Economy, Tourism on 24/09/2011 at 10:16 am| Year | Cost (SGD M) | Additional TourismRevenue(SGD M) | Profit/ Loss(SGD M) | Margin over Costs (%) |
| 2008 | 150 | 168 | 18 | 12 |
| 2009 | 150 | 93 | -57 | -38.00% |
| 2010 | 150 | 160 | 10 | 6.67 |
| Totals | 450 | 421 | -29 | -19.33 |
(Click the headline to see full table if you are reading from the Home page.) (Cost and revenue numbers taken from BBC link below.)
Note: As much as 60% of the S$150m a year is being invested by the Singapore government through the Singapore Tourism Board (STB) in a bid to attract more visitors here,
Any wonder why “intangible rewards” matter. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-15015158
But shouldn’t intagible costs be taken into consideration.
Thoughts of a Cynical Investor 