SINGAPORE is Western Australia’s the No.1 source market for foreign visitors with arrivals from the Lion City already back at 80 per cent of pre-Covid levels, the latest data shows.
Tourism Western Australia reports there are now 270 flights per week between Changi International Airport and Perth with Singaporeans accounting for 24 per cent of all international arrivals in the third quarter of 2022.
Pre-Covid, Singapore was Western Australia’s third largest international market after China and the UK, but Perth’s proximity, accessibility and health safety record have brought Australia’s largest state to the attention of travellers across the Indian Ocean.
Backgrounder… Welcoming the world back to Australia
“We are thrilled to see a large and growing appetite amongst Singapore residents to visit Western Australia and to venture further than Perth,” said Carolyn Turnbull, managing director of Tourism Western Australia.
“In the post-pandemic world, travellers are increasingly seeking wide open spaces, nature-based tourism, authentic indigenous experiences, and immersive gourmet trails, and these are all things that Western Australia offers in abundance.
“With 87 per cent of Singaporean travellers being repeat visitors, we know that once people come, they want to return, because we are delivering quality experiences that visitors can’t get anywhere else.”
Destination feature…Perth’s pull
Western Australia’s tourism operators stayed busy during the state’s prolonged Covid shutdown by developing new experiences and tours, opening new hotels and resorts, and investing in more Indigenous tourism offerings.
Ava Ang, Tourism Western Australia’s country manager for Singapore and Malaysia said TWA’s efforts in promoting the state to Singaporeans were showing good results. This came despite Singapore’s small population compared to other markets.
“Western Australia is attractive to Singaporeans because it’s close, offers outstanding natural attractions and wildlife, and boasts some of the best dining experiences you will find anywhere, but we can’t become complacent because as the world opens up, other destinations will start competing for their share of Singaporean visitors,” Ang said.
Among TWA’s post-Covid marketing initiatives is the Walking On a Dream campaign in Singapore to attract more visitors to Western Australia’s natural wonders.
Main picture: Vineyards at Margaret River, Western Australia
