Indian tourist arrivals increases 15.5% in first nine months of this year
India is one of the fastest growing markets for tourist arrivals in Singapore post-pandemic, says Mark Shaw, Chairman, Orchard Road Business Association.
“In fact, we saw a huge surge of Indian tourists to the Republic this year,” said Shaw, citing 15.5% increase to 792,935 Indian tourists for the first nine months of this year compared to the same period last year.
“Indian travellers come to Singapore to enjoy the country’s many new attractions but we think they also find affinity in our Indian culture and heritage and feel at home here,” Press Trust of India quoted Shaw as saying.
He also cited industry survey, showing that Indian travellers are among the highest spenders globally.
“We are confident that members of Orchard Road Business Association (ORBA) will be able to delight them with a wide range of interesting and innovative product and service offerings,” said Shaw.
The city state of 5.6 million people is ramping up celebrations for the upcoming festivals.
The Christmas light-up along Orchard Road to the New Year will start on 16 November.
ORBA, leading the light-up for year-end celebrations, has unveiled programme for its annual Christmas on a theme of ‘A Great Street Light Up’ along Singapore’s most popular tourist and hotel belt precinct.
The annual Orchard Road light up, now in its 40th year, has set a tradition of celebrating festivals with colourful decorations and light ups of other precincts that widely relates to Chinese, Indians and Malays in multi-national Singapore.
The success of the first Orchard light-up sparked interest, following which similar light-ups take place every year in precincts of Chinatown, Geylang and Little India, Shaw pointed out.
Supported by businesses in the precinct and in a way of celebrating a festival, the Little India light up for this year is on from September 30 till December 3, along the main thorough fares of Serangoon Road and a section of Race Course Road, to attract tourists as well as local visitors.
Deepavali is on 12 November but the festive activities started early with the light-up and elaborate decorations as well as special bazaar offering goodies for the festival.
Coaches of the metro running through the Little India Precincts have been decorated with paintings of rangoli and peacocks as well as greetings from the Land Transport Authority, metro operator SMRT Trains and the Little India Shopkeepers and Heritage Association while it is supported by the Indian Heritage Centre.
Similarly, the light up celebrations will continue during the Chinese New Year (Lunar New Year) which is held January-February in Chinatown as well as Hari Raya Puasa (Eid) celebration light up in Geylang, a traditional Malay settlement which is popular shopping centre mostly for Muslim community to meet, greet and shop.
For this year, ORBA is lighting up a 3.1 km Orchard Road, and its programme includes three Christmas Villages, serving as hubs for F&B, retail therapy and entertainment, augmented reality wall projections, music in the air and a Christmas Eve Street party.
Last year, more than 4 million people joined the merry-making events at hotels and malls, and this year, the organiser is expecting 5-6 million locals and tourists during the six-week festivities along the fashionable Orchard Road, now a hub for international hotels and retail outlets of global brands.
These are among many other celebrative events promoting cultural events in Singapore which already have a wide range of attractions across the island, said Shaw. Fiinews.com
