Bruneians spend $82.9m during visits to Singapore from Jan to Sept 2013

Bruneians who visited Singapore in the first nine months of 2013 spent $82.9 million while in the neighbouring city-state, an official from the Singapore Tourism Board said yesterday.

The figure is 20 per cent higher than Bruneians' spending in Singapore in the same period in 2012, said Sherina Chan, Singapore Tourism Board area director in charge of the Philippines and Brunei.

Chan said each Bruneian spends an average $1,600 per trip to Singapore.

Statistics released by the Singapore Tourism Board show that 52,203 Bruneians visited Singapore from January to September 2013, a 10 per cent rise from the same period in 2012.

'Many Bruneians come to Singapore and spend money mostly on accommodation, food, concerts, sports, marathons, sightseeing and of course shopping,' she said, adding that there is a rise in younger Bruneians making more sightseeing trips when compared to the previous years.

For all of 2013, the Singapore Tourism Board expects tourist arrivals from Brunei to surpass the 60,000 mark, Chan said.

'Asia is a very important market for Singapore, and our top five arrivals have four Asian countries in it,' she said.

Based on the statistics from the board, Indonesians make up the largest group of tourists arriving in Singapore. In the first nine months of 2013, approximately 2.28 million Indonesians visited the country. This is followed by China, with 1.9 million, Malaysia with 910,000, Australia with 842,000 and India with 703,000 tourist arrivals.

In total Singapore counted 11.8 million tourist arrivals for the period, receiving approximately $14 billion in tourist receipts from January to September last year.

Chan added that the 21st Great Singapore Sale for this year is expected to run from May 30 to July 24, and added that this period is a 'favourite among Bruneians'.

'Bruneians are able to show their passport and receive tourist privileges during this time, which is something very special, as discounts during this period can go as high as 70 per cent off the retail price,' she said.

The Singapore Tourism Board's latest figures show that tourism receipts for 2013 are expected to be between $23.5 and $24.5 billion in total; up 1.6 per cent from 2012. Their expected 2013 visitor arrival figure for the year is expected to reach 15.5 million people, up 7.2 per cent from the previous year.