GuideMeSingapore

Looking at starting a promising business venture? Think no more. Given Singapore’s ever expanding tourism sector, any business that supports this industry, will likely keep your cash register ringing. It would be stating the obvious by saying that tourism is one of Singapore’s largest service sector fuelling the nation’s economic growth. In fact all signs indicate that it could very well turn out to be the largest growth sector in the near future.

In the pursuit of evolving into a tourism capital, Singapore has left no stone unturned. The “Uniquely Singapore” brand is in your face and visitor arrivals are never enough for the city-state, which aims to hit 17 million arrivals by 2015. If you think it’s being overly optimistic, think again. The Integrated Resorts including two world-class casinos, the F1 Grand Prix, the Youth Olympic Games 2010 (to be held in Singapore), the APEC 2009 meetings (being held in Singapore) are but some of the attractions/events that are sure to pull in the crowds. Medical tourism, business tourism, retail tourism and now even education tourism is booming, to say the least. And here is the icing on the cake -with Asian economies surging ahead we can expect increased inter-regional and intra-regional business and leisure travel. Singapore’s strategic location, enabling access to 2.8 billion people within a seven hour flight radius is definitely going to work to its advantage. So don’t be fooled by the recent drop in international travel as it is only a passing phase due to the present economic circumstances.

If you’re still not convinced then just look at last week’s news stories:

• Singapore based budget airline Jet Star Asia is aggressively expanding and launching new routes out of Singapore.
• There is a new grant being introduced to help needy students pursue tourism or hospitality education.
• The National Association of Travel Agents Singapore (NATAS) is hoping to attract 60,000 visitors at its upcoming fair, with vendors expected to generate some S$50 million in sales.

Clearly, the travel landscape of Asia is changing and if you’re looking at grabbing a slice in the pie, the time is now and the place is Singapore. Last but not the least: Singapore ranked 2nd regionally and 10th world-wide (up by 6 places from last year) according to the World Economic Forum’s Travel & Tourism Competitiveness Index 2009.

Interested in doing business in Singapore? Find out how to setup a Singapore company.