Hong Kong protests and chaos is benefitting Singapore tourism. Singapore’s hotel occupancy rates have climbed to their highest in over a decade with travellers and business events moving away from Hong Kong, where pro-democracy protests have declined tourist numbers and wider business sentiment significantly.
Singapore’s tourism board data showed that average occupancy rates in the city-state’s hotels hit 93.8 percent in July, which are the highest in records going back to 2005, and up from 92.5 percent a year ago.
“Singapore may benefit twice as much from the Hong Kong fallout as both these destinations share similar traits,” said Derek Tan, an analyst at Singapore’s biggest bank DBS, citing businesses switching conference venues from Hong Kong.
The Global Wellness Summit, a gathering of about 600 health and beauty industry delegates scheduled for mid-October recently said that it was moving to Singapore from Hong Kong.
In Hong Kong, the city’s airport has suffered repeated disruptions due to demonstrations and hotel operators have witnessed lower occupancy rates and booking cancellations. Countries like Singapore have advised their citizens to postpone non-essential travel to the former British colony.
