TOURIST arrivals jumped to a new record in May, thanks in part to the two integrated resorts (IRs) fuelling visitors to Singapore, say travel experts.

The number of tourists shot up 30.3 per cent from a year ago, making it the highest ever recorded in the month of May, and for the sixth straight month running.

In raw numbers, 946,000 foreigners came here last month, up from 726,000 a year ago, said the Singapore Tourism Board (STB) on Monday. The bulk of the increase in arrivals came from Singapore?s top 15 visitor generating markets ? all but the UK sent more tourists this way.

Hong Kong tourists, the 11th largest market, posted the biggest jump - a 48.8 per cent leap to 32,000 arrivals. The number of Malaysians jumped 48.7 per cent, and for Taiwanese, it was up 47.4 per cent. Visitors from China also spiked by 38 per cent.

The rise in tourist arrivals has boosted occupancy at hotels and are sending rates north as well. Average occupancy rate is strong at 85 per cent, up 17.1 percentage points from last year, and hotel room revenue has soared 45.2 per cent from last year to hit $164 million.

For most of last year, the average room rate languished below $200. Last month, it reached $209, 13.4 per cent higher than in May last year.

Afterthoughts:

Since the 2 IRs launched their opening, tourist from around the world visited Singapore. This not only increaased revenue for the tourist industry in Singapore, it has also made Singapore into an international tourist attraction. Singapore has proven to the world that even though we are just a small nation compared to countries like U.S and China, but we can still be at the top in the various industries and attract as many tourist from around the world as possible.

Not only has the tourist industry improve, the aviation industry also improved. On the cargo front, Changi handled 153,098 tonnes of freight last month, 14.7 per cent more than in May last year. For the January to May period, total air freight volume hit 728,794 tonnes, up 17.3 per cent against last year. There was more activity on the tarmac too, with 22,151 take-offs and landings recorded, 12.4 per cent more than a year ago. This shows that the two IRs have indeed earned more revenue and helped Singapore recover from the economic crisis.