Indian tourist flow to Singapore to surge in coming yrs: One Faber Group

Singapore can expect a rise in tourist arrivals from India with the Indian government focussing on improving airport infrastructure in tier II cities, which will lead to increased flight frequencies between the two nations, said One Faber Group.

The Singapore-based lifestyle services brand expects a huge influx of tourists from India, particularly millennials interested in leisure travel.

"More airports mean more opportunities to target weekend travellers to regional countries. With India's plans to invest in the building of 100 airports over the next 10-15 years, the India tourism market is expected to grow exponentially, especially with the millennial market," Mount Faber Leisure Group Director (Sales and Business Development) Patrick Lee told PTI.

He also added that now airlines are also increasing flight frequencies from India to Singapore to offer seamless connectivity from various airports.

India's tourist arrivals to Singapore is growing from strength to strength. We hope to see rapid an increase in Indians visiting Singapore. We are exploring opportunities to deepen trade engagement in tier II cities with key India travel agents, Lee added.

According to him, India is a key source market for Singapore Tourism and despite demonetisation and implementation of goods and services tax (GST), visitors' arrival continued to increase.

From January December 2017, Singapore received 12,72,074 visitors from India, registering a growth of 15.94 per cent year-on-year, and arrival continues to grow.

One Faber Group, which operates popular cable car network, recorded 3,66,422 Indian visitors in 2018.

"As per Singapore Tourism Board data, in 2018 there has been a rise of 16 per cent in the number of Indian tourists. In 2018, around 1.32 million Indian visitors landed in Singapore," he said.

Singapore is among top five destination for Indian outbounds. The others includes Dubai, Thailand and Malaysia.