Why Indian tourists love Singapore

HE CAME to Singapore last year for two days on a business trip and was looking to set aside a few hours of his time to visit Gardens by the Bay.

But his busy schedule did not allow him to do that and he felt that the time he spent in Singapore "wasn't enough".

His trip was packed with meetings and he didn't get much time for sightseeing.

Mr Balaiah Akkinapalli from Guntur, Andhra Pradesh, told himself he would be back for a second time so this year, he came back on Feb 21 for a four day-three night holiday with his friends.

Said the 46-year-old, who was seen at Pinnacle Hotel on Jalan Besar Road: "I heard how the Gardens by the Bay is a world-class attraction from my friends in India and I'm happy I came back to see it," he said.

He also went to the Singapore Zoo, Night Safari, Universal Studios and shopped at Bugis Street and Little India.

He is one of the 1.1 million visitors from India who visited Singapore last year and contributed to the 8 per cent increase in visitor arrivals from India.

Singapore Tourism Board's (STB) extensive efforts to market Singapore in Tier 1 and 2 Indian cities paid off with increased arrivals from Mumbai, Chennai, New Delhi, Bangalore, Pune, Hyderabad, Kolkata, Ahmedabad, Kochi, Jaipur, Tiruchirapally and Amritsar.

The tourism sector performance report by the Singapore Tourism Board (STB) showed that Indian visitors to Singapore generated $1.1 billion in tourism receipts for the first three quarters of 2016 - a 37 per cent increase over the same period in 2015.

Looking at major components, 18 per cent was spent on shopping, 39 per cent on accommodation, 15 per cent on food and beverage and 28 per cent on other components.

Said STB's regional director, south Asia, Middle East and Africa G.B. Srithar: "For the first three quarters of 2016, Singapore saw an increase in visitors from major cities in India - Mumbai and Delhi. These visitors have a higher propensity to spend, thus driving growth in spend on shopping and accommodation."

He added that they are mostly leisure and family travellers with keen interest in sightseeing and attractions.

According to Sentosa Development Corporation's chief marketing officer Lynette Ang, guests from India form close to 20 per cent of the Sentosa Island's foreign visitorship.

Part of the film Badrinath Ki Dulhania was shot in Sentosa's attraction Megazip and with the launch of the movie in March, there were also attractive promotional packages for Indian guests who visit the attraction.

To attract more Indian tourists, Madame Tussauds opened a new zone in February last year called the Indian International Film Academy Awards experience featuring wax figurines of leading Bollywood celebrities.

India is one of the top five countries in terms of visitorship across the four parks under Wildlife Reserves Singapore, according to Wildlife Reserves Singapore chief marketing officer Isabel Cheng.

Wildlife Reserves Singapore ties up with key tourist agents in India such as Cox & Kings and Thomas Cook to market its parks.

"Customised Indian-themed buffet dinner at Night Safari, Indian restaurant at Jurong Bird Park and exhibits such as River Safari's Ganges River zone, which showcases the Indian Gharial and the Goonch catfish are some examples how we refresh our attractions and services regularly. We are working on introducing a multi-language tram commentary in the near future, which will benefit Indian tourists, said Ms Cheng.

Enjoying world-class attractions

Those who come here are not disappointed.

Mr Anuj Saxena and his wife, together with their 7-year-old daughter, came from Mumbai to Singapore for a four-day leisure trip in February.

Shared Mr Saxena: "It is our first time in Singapore and we really wanted to come and see Universal Studios. Our daughter is big enough to enjoy the rides and we loved the atmosphere there."

The couple, who were shopping for toys and clothes at City Square Mall, said they plan to visit Singapore again at the end of the year as they "enjoyed shopping at the malls because of the variety of shops, especially with fashion".

The family booked their stay at Park Royal on Kitchener Road as they had heard from their relatives in India that the hotel was conveniently situated in the heart of the Little India district with a wide array of Indian food options.

Indeed, assistant marketing communications manager of Park Royal on Kitchener Road Monica Loh said: "By virtue of our location, we have a very high brand recall value amongst Indian tourists.

"Hence, we are often the first choice for accommodation when they visit Singapore.

"The Indian market forms part of its key arrivals at the hotel. It has a good mixture of leisure travellers - they mainly come with families during Indian holiday seasons and corporate guests on business trips typically travel solo."

The bulk of its Indian guests come from Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, Bengaluru and Hyderabad.

Those from Tier 2 cities in states like Punjab also stay at Park Royal on Kitchener Road. Mr Umesh Gulati, whose sister and brother-in-law have visited Singapore before, recommended the hotel to him.

"We get Indian food very easily from the restaurants and eateries nearby," said the 30-year-old, who was here with his wife, two children and parents. He visited Universal Studios, Sentosa and Orchard Road. They also went on a two-day cruise with Star Cruises.

Agencies see an increase in Indian tourists

Tour agency Luxury Tours and Travel, which pull in visitors to Singapore by selling tour packages to them through overseas partner agencies, said it brought in about 62,800 tourists from India last year.

Its director Michael Lee said the agency saw a big jump in the free independent travellers segment - 67 per cent increase from 2015.

"They typically spend about four nights in Singapore and spend about $500 to $800 on the tour package, excluding flight and cruise," he said.

Another agency, Star Holiday Mart, received 15,000 tourists from India last year - a 10 per cent increase from 2015.

Deputy general manager Cynthia Foh said the agency receives bookings from all over India, but higher traffic comes from Mumbai where most major airlines operate for better connectivity.

Said Mr Srithar: "The growth (of Indian tourist arrivals) is attributed to increased air connectivity through various airlines, boosted travel from key metros and Tier 2 cities; STB's tactical efforts to market Singapore in Tier 1 and Tier 2 cities, with visitor arrivals from targeted Tier 2 cities grew by 7 per cent year-on-year to 183,000 visitors and 29 per cent increase in cruise passenger arrivals to 100,000."

Cruises a hit

Ms Aditi Gupta and Mr Divay Arora from Delhi had their six-day honeymoon trip to Singapore all planned out. Going on a cruise and staying one night at Marina Bay Sands Hotel was a must on their to-do list in Singapore.

"The hotel is well-known worldwide and we are glad we experienced it. We only booked one night because it's very costly," said Ms Gupta.

Mr Arora chipped in and said: "But the room and the view was worth it."

They continued the rest of their stay at Aqueen Hotel at Lavender.

The couple, who were spotted at Mustafa Cafe, had bought a fly-cruise package from a tour agency in India before coming to Singapore.

Said Ms Gupta: "There are no cruises in India and we read good reviews about the cruises in Singapore so we were eager to go on it."

Ms Gupta and Mr Arora, both 26, came to Singapore on Feb 17 and went on a two-night SuperStar Gemini cruise before continuing the rest of their holiday in Singapore until Feb 22.

"It was fantastic, the view was amazing and we plan to take the cruise again - maybe next year," said Ms Gupta.

Vice-president of sales for Genting Hong Kong, Mr Naresh Rawal, said Star Cruises continue to see a year-on-year increase in the number of Indian passengers on board its cruise ship SuperStar Gemini, which is homeported in Singapore all-year round.

"With Singapore's well-established network and connectivity, many travellers from India are finding it easier to opt for a cruise vacation, especially with the availability of various fly-cruise packages. Many Indian travellers and holiday-makers are fast discovering the joy of cruising," said Mr Rawal, who added that Star Cruises provide attractive offerings from vegetarian meals to a variety of Bollywood thematic parties that appeal to its Indian guests.

Princess Cruises' director for South-east Asia Farriek Tawfik said he too, has seen a positive growth from the Indian market.

"Singapore is very well connected to many Indian cities in terms of the number of airlines and flights serving both countries. This adds to the convenience for Indian guests to go on the fly-cruise programme, and some even opt for pre-and post-stay holidays in Singapore since our ship homeports here."

Both Star Cruises and Princess Cruises have also see, a growing trend in multi-generation families and senior citizens going on cruises.

Mr Karnal JS Chopra, 75, who was due to board a two-night SuperStar Gemini cruise from Singapore with a group of 20 senior citizens from Delhi, said: "It is my first time in Singapore and it will be my first time taking the cruise. My children have been on the cruise here and they say the service and entertainment is top-notch."

Increased air connectivity

Increased connectivity by domestic and international airlines has also been cited as contributory factors to the growth in tourist arrivals from India.

Said Air India's country manager for Singapore Sowmya Srinivasan: "Air India and Indian Airlines have been connecting Singapore to India for the last six decades. This long and strong relationship between the two countries in areas of trade, commerce and tourism has gone a long way in promoting airline travel between the Indian subcontinent and Singapore."

Jet Airways has seen a 50 per cent increase in passengers travelling from India to Singapore for the period April 2016 till January 2017.

On top of the daily flights between Singapore and Chennai, Jet Airways has also introduced the Singapore to Bengaluru route effective from December last year.

Jet Airways' general manager for Singapore and Oceania Paul Wu said that a recent joint promotional campaign with Changi Airport Group and STB called "Let's Go Singapore" have yielded encouraging results.

Singapore's low cost carrier Tigerair has traditionally enjoyed good take-up rates for its Singapore-India flights. There is high demand for seats on flights to Singapore from Chennai, Tiruchirappalli and Bengaluru. Over the past year, the airline has increased the frequency of its Hyderabad and Tiruchirappalli flights to Singapore with an additional weekly flight.

Good food, expensive shopping

Apart from visiting the attractions, Indian tourists also spend on souvenirs for their friends and family.

Said the director of Singapore Tourist Shop 5 for $10 on Syed Alwi Road Peter Tan: "We see hordes of Indian tourists, especially young couples. They're either buying back souvenirs for themselves or for their friends and families. Like the Merlion, something that represents Singapore in the form of a keychain, magnet, decorative items and tote bags."

Restaurants also do good business. One restaurant frequented by Indian tourists is Riverwalk Tandoor at Farrer Park.

Restaurant manager Abhishek Kumar said: "Majority of our patrons are Indian tourists and they come by the busload. Between October and December, when it's the peak travel period, we usually host about 300 tourists for lunch and dinner on some days."

Ms Reshma Santhosh, who hails from Kochi, Kerala, was seen with her husband at the restaurant. The couple, who came here for a four-day holiday and stayed at the Swissotel Stamford, said: "The buffet here is excellent and there are many non-veg and veg choices."

But she finds shopping here expensive. "I'm calculating how much each thing costs and converting it to rupees before I buy, so I find it expensive."

Ms Pradyna Patil on the other hand does not hold back when it comes to shopping. The Mumbaikar was spotted at Bugis Street with her sister, who has been working here as an administrative executive for five months.

"The clothes here are slightly expensive, but the quality is good and I won't find such variety back in India, so I'm really buying whatever I can," she said with a laugh.

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