Singapore hotel prices hit 10-year high as city roars back to life

SINGAPORE (Bloomberg): Hotel rooms in Singapore are now the most expensive in almost a decade as the city-state seeks to position itself as the tourism and business destination in Asia with a slew of high-profile events lined up for the coming months.

At S$259 (US$184) a night, the average hotel room rate in July rose nearly 70% year-on-year to the highest since September 2012, as visitor arrivals continue to accelerate amid easing Covid-19 restrictions, the latest data from the Singapore Tourism Board showed.

Even as prices climb, luxurious stays in the South-East Asian nation are still cheaper than in some of its big-city peers.

A five-star hotel in Singapore charges an average of S$344 per night, compared with S$387 in Hong Kong, S$522 in Tokyo and S$584 in London, according to data from Trip.com. Meanwhile, a five-star hotel costs S$318 per night in Sydney and S$256 in Seoul.

Visitor arrivals in Singapore rose for the sixth straight month in July to 726,601, up from 543,733 in June, according to the tourism board. This growth is likely to hold as the country plays host to a growing number of international business and sporting events.

Preparation is in the works for the Formula One Grand Prix from Sept 30-Oct. 2 after a two-year hiatus. This year’s night race is set to see its biggest turnout since the inaugural event in 2008, with tickets expected to sell out, Singapore’s transport minister S Iswaran told local media at a community event in August.

Away from the track, the entertainment lineup includes performances by Westlife and Green Day. Other big names in entertainment coming to Singapore later this year include Justin Bieber, Maroon Five and Guns N’ Roses.

Singapore will also host the Milken Institute Asia Summit, Forbes Global CEO Conference and several crypto events in September, followed by gamescom asia in October.

The reopening comes as regional travel hub rival Hong Kong continues to require three days of hotel quarantine for incoming visitors.

In the first three months of 2022, Singapore hosted more than 150 local and international events attended by over 37,000 people, according to the tourism board.

About 4 million to 6 million visitors are expected in 2022. The nation saw 1.5 million visitor arrivals in the first half of 2022, nearly 12 times more compared to the same period last year, the board said.

Indonesia, India, Malaysia, Australia and the Philippines were the top five visitor markets, accounting for 56% of Singapore’s total visitor arrivals in the first half.