<TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width=452 border=0><TBODY><TR><TD vAlign=top width=452 colSpan=2>Published January 1, 2009
</TD></TR><TR><TD vAlign=top width=452 colSpan=2>Visitors drop but locals spend on F&B
By NISHA RAMCHANDANI
<TABLE class=storyLinks cellSpacing=4 cellPadding=1 width=136 align=right border=0><TBODY><TR class=font10><TD align=right width=20>
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<TABLE class=picBoxL cellSpacing=2 width=100 align=left><TBODY><TR><TD>
</TD></TR><TR class=caption><TD>Ms Phillips: Gloomy tourism forecasts will not affect Zouk </TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>But fortunately, things are not all gloom and doom. Mid-price food and beverage (F&B) outlets and clubs are holding up relatively well as some Singaporeans shelve plans to visit exotic locations and buy big-ticket items in favour of 'stay-at-home' holidays.
While 2008 kicked off on a strong note, tourist arrivals started to contract year-on-year from June, culminating in a 9.7 per cent drop in November. As a result, Singapore is likely to fall short of its 2008 tourism targets of 10.8 million visitor arrivals and $15.5 billion in receipts, despite events such as the first Formula One (F1) night motor race and yachting's Volvo Ocean Race.
'The global economic situation is expected to continue to affect consumer sentiment and discretionary spending, and there will be a need to stimulate greater demand for travel to Singapore and the region,' said Ong Huey Hong, director of planning for the Singapore Tourism Board (STB).
As such, the private sector and Asean member nations have to work hand in hand to promote travel to and within the region in the coming months, she said. 'STB will continue to collaborate with neighbouring national tourism organisations at regional meeting platforms, and will work more closely with regional and local industry players,' she added.
In the mid to long term, the outlook is much more positive for the industry, with upcoming developments such as Resorts World at Sentosa, Marina Bay Sands and the Youth Olympic Games.
Meanwhile, mid-price F&B companies such as the Ministry of Food seem to be escaping the recession for now. Ministry of Food's CEO Lena Sim clearly has no reservations about growing the business in trying times.
<TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=5 align=left border=0><TBODY><TR><TD bgColor=#ffffff>[FONT=Geneva, Helvetica, Verdana, Arial, sans-serif]<!-- REPLACE EVERYTHING IN CAPITALS WITH YOUR OWN VALUES --><TABLE class=quoteBox cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width=144 align=left border=0><TBODY><TR><TD vAlign=bottom>
</TD></TR><TR><TD bgColor=#fffff1><TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width=124 align=center border=0><TBODY><TR><TD vAlign=top>'The global economic situation is expected to ... affect consumer sentiment.'
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</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE></TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>Ministry of Food recently launched a new branch at West Coast Plaza called Emperor Q and has expanded to four countries in the two years or so since the business started. It plans to open 75 more outlets over the next six years.
'We have outlets in Indonesia, Malaysia and Vietnam. We are also in the last stage of negotiations with Thailand, Dubai and India,' Ms Sim said. 'This is the best period to expand, given that rents are softer, prime locations are more available, talent is cheaper, loyalty is stronger and competition is less.'
While the weaker economy will result in people cutting back on big investments and luxuries, Ms Sim said she believes that they will spend more on food as emotional compensation. 'Sales have surged even amid the crisis. While fine dining will be affected, mid-priced F&B is recession-proof,' she said.
ZoukOut 2008 at Sentosa's Siloso Beach also proved to be a smash hit, with ticket sales reaching an all-time high of more than 26,000 - or about 3,000 more than last year. Close to 10,000 of the revellers were from overseas, coming from nearby countries such as Thailand, Malaysia and Indonesia as well as from farther afield such as Russia.
Zouk's marketing manager Tracy Phillips is confident that gloomy forecasts for tourism in 2009 will not put a major dent in the club's coffers. Patrons are predominantly local and entrance fees are pretty reasonable, she noted. The New Year's Eve party at Siloso Beach, which traditionally sees 10,000-15,000 people, was expected to register a similar number this year, a Sentosa spokesperson told BT earlier this week.
Meanwhile, hotels have already started seeing some softening in demand, although higher average room rates (ARR) year-on-year are proving to be something of a saving grace for now. Some hotels are also trying to spark more demand from Singaporeans. The Marriott, for instance, has a 'local package' going at $268++ per night.
For Hong Leong Group's Millennium & Copthorne (M&C), occupancy rates held strong for the first three quarters of 2008, while Q4 saw a slight decline. Hotels under M&C include the Grand Copthorne Waterfront Hotel and Orchard Hotel. M&C has noticed that guests are putting off advance bookings for short stays, securing confirmation only closer to the date.
Revenue per available room (RevPar) for M&C's hotels in Singapore was up 28.2 per cent for 2008, bolstered largely by a 32.5 per cent increase in ARR. While the group has been 'vigilant in controlling costs to address the slowing growth rate in Asia, we are not looking at cutting staff at our Singapore hotels', a spokesman said.
Recognising that this year will hardly be a bed of roses for the hotel industry, M&C has been working to put together an active calendar to provide a 'competitive range of products.'
In addition, customers who have cancelled overseas holidays to cut costs have decided to have a 'Singapore' holiday or celebrate the festive season by patronising M&C's F&B outlets. All function and banquet rooms were fully booked over the Christmas period. 'This is encouraging as we face a very challenging year ahead,' the company's spokesman said. [/FONT]
</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>
</TD></TR><TR><TD vAlign=top width=452 colSpan=2>Visitors drop but locals spend on F&B
By NISHA RAMCHANDANI
<TABLE class=storyLinks cellSpacing=4 cellPadding=1 width=136 align=right border=0><TBODY><TR class=font10><TD align=right width=20>
</TD><TD>Email this article</TD></TR><TR class=font10><TD align=right width=20>
</TD><TD>Print article </TD></TR><TR class=font10><TD align=right width=20>
</TD><TD>Feedback</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>THIS year will be challenging for Singapore's tourism industry, as falling visitor numbers and weaker discretionary spending continue to take a toll.<TABLE class=picBoxL cellSpacing=2 width=100 align=left><TBODY><TR><TD>
</TD></TR><TR class=caption><TD>Ms Phillips: Gloomy tourism forecasts will not affect Zouk </TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>But fortunately, things are not all gloom and doom. Mid-price food and beverage (F&B) outlets and clubs are holding up relatively well as some Singaporeans shelve plans to visit exotic locations and buy big-ticket items in favour of 'stay-at-home' holidays.While 2008 kicked off on a strong note, tourist arrivals started to contract year-on-year from June, culminating in a 9.7 per cent drop in November. As a result, Singapore is likely to fall short of its 2008 tourism targets of 10.8 million visitor arrivals and $15.5 billion in receipts, despite events such as the first Formula One (F1) night motor race and yachting's Volvo Ocean Race.
'The global economic situation is expected to continue to affect consumer sentiment and discretionary spending, and there will be a need to stimulate greater demand for travel to Singapore and the region,' said Ong Huey Hong, director of planning for the Singapore Tourism Board (STB).
As such, the private sector and Asean member nations have to work hand in hand to promote travel to and within the region in the coming months, she said. 'STB will continue to collaborate with neighbouring national tourism organisations at regional meeting platforms, and will work more closely with regional and local industry players,' she added.
In the mid to long term, the outlook is much more positive for the industry, with upcoming developments such as Resorts World at Sentosa, Marina Bay Sands and the Youth Olympic Games.
Meanwhile, mid-price F&B companies such as the Ministry of Food seem to be escaping the recession for now. Ministry of Food's CEO Lena Sim clearly has no reservations about growing the business in trying times.
<TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=5 align=left border=0><TBODY><TR><TD bgColor=#ffffff>[FONT=Geneva, Helvetica, Verdana, Arial, sans-serif]<!-- REPLACE EVERYTHING IN CAPITALS WITH YOUR OWN VALUES --><TABLE class=quoteBox cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width=144 align=left border=0><TBODY><TR><TD vAlign=bottom>
</TD></TR><TR><TD vAlign=top>
- Ong Huey Hong,
</TD></TR><TR><TD vAlign=top>STB's director of planning
</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE></TD></TR><TR><TD height=39>
'We have outlets in Indonesia, Malaysia and Vietnam. We are also in the last stage of negotiations with Thailand, Dubai and India,' Ms Sim said. 'This is the best period to expand, given that rents are softer, prime locations are more available, talent is cheaper, loyalty is stronger and competition is less.'
While the weaker economy will result in people cutting back on big investments and luxuries, Ms Sim said she believes that they will spend more on food as emotional compensation. 'Sales have surged even amid the crisis. While fine dining will be affected, mid-priced F&B is recession-proof,' she said.
ZoukOut 2008 at Sentosa's Siloso Beach also proved to be a smash hit, with ticket sales reaching an all-time high of more than 26,000 - or about 3,000 more than last year. Close to 10,000 of the revellers were from overseas, coming from nearby countries such as Thailand, Malaysia and Indonesia as well as from farther afield such as Russia.
Zouk's marketing manager Tracy Phillips is confident that gloomy forecasts for tourism in 2009 will not put a major dent in the club's coffers. Patrons are predominantly local and entrance fees are pretty reasonable, she noted. The New Year's Eve party at Siloso Beach, which traditionally sees 10,000-15,000 people, was expected to register a similar number this year, a Sentosa spokesperson told BT earlier this week.
Meanwhile, hotels have already started seeing some softening in demand, although higher average room rates (ARR) year-on-year are proving to be something of a saving grace for now. Some hotels are also trying to spark more demand from Singaporeans. The Marriott, for instance, has a 'local package' going at $268++ per night.
For Hong Leong Group's Millennium & Copthorne (M&C), occupancy rates held strong for the first three quarters of 2008, while Q4 saw a slight decline. Hotels under M&C include the Grand Copthorne Waterfront Hotel and Orchard Hotel. M&C has noticed that guests are putting off advance bookings for short stays, securing confirmation only closer to the date.
Revenue per available room (RevPar) for M&C's hotels in Singapore was up 28.2 per cent for 2008, bolstered largely by a 32.5 per cent increase in ARR. While the group has been 'vigilant in controlling costs to address the slowing growth rate in Asia, we are not looking at cutting staff at our Singapore hotels', a spokesman said.
Recognising that this year will hardly be a bed of roses for the hotel industry, M&C has been working to put together an active calendar to provide a 'competitive range of products.'
In addition, customers who have cancelled overseas holidays to cut costs have decided to have a 'Singapore' holiday or celebrate the festive season by patronising M&C's F&B outlets. All function and banquet rooms were fully booked over the Christmas period. 'This is encouraging as we face a very challenging year ahead,' the company's spokesman said. [/FONT]
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