Air traffic stabilising

Preliminary figures released by the Association of Asia Pacific Airlines (AAPA) showed that its member airlines carried a total of 11.2 million international passengers in March, 10.8% fewer than in the same month last year.

International passenger traffic, in RPK terms, fell by 12.9% year-on-year, outpacing an overall reduction in capacity of 5.6%. As a result, the average passenger load factor fell by six percentage points to 71.7%.

Commenting on the March 200 and first quarter results, Andrew Herdman, AAPA Director General said, “For the first three months of the year, AAPA international passenger numbers were 10.9% lower than in the same period last year, when traffic was still buoyant.

“Demand for first and business class seats has been hit hardest, as companies economise by tightening applicable travel policies. Airlines have implemented various measures, including capacity adjustments and additional cost controls, both internally and externally, working with key service providers. At the same time, carriers are offering special promotional fares for both leisure and business travel, often working hand in hand with hotels, tour operators and tourism authorities.”

Overall, Herdman added, “Whilst the crisis confronting the industry remains acute, traffic levels do seem to be stabilising, even though there is, as yet, no sign of any uptick in demand that might signal the beginnings of a recovery process.”

• RPK = revenue passenger kilometres
• ASK = available seat kilometres
• All figures, including estimates for missing data, are provisional

Drop in visitor arrivals to Singapore

Visitor arrivals to Singapore in March 2009 declined 13.2% compared to March 2008, as did the number of visitor days, according to statistics released by the Singapore Tourism Board.

Some key information:

• Visitor arrivals to Singapore reached 790,000 in March 2009, registering a decline of 13.2% compared to March 2008. Visitor days were estimated at 3.0 million days, a decrease of 11.0% in comparison with March 2008.

• Indonesia (128,000), P R China (91,000), Malaysia (60,000), Australia (55,000),
and UK (53,000) were Singapore’s top 5 visitor-generating markets. These markets accounted for 49% of total visitor arrivals for the month.

• Singapore gazetted hotels were estimated to generate S$125 million in room revenue, representing a decrease of 33.3% versus March 2008.

• Visitor arrivals to Singapore reached 790,000 in March 2009, registering a decline of 13.2% compared to March 2008. Visitor days were estimated at 3.0 million days, a decrease of 11.0% in comparison with March 2008.

• Indonesia (128,000), P R China (91,000), Malaysia (60,000), Australia (55,000), and UK (53,000) were Singapore’s top five visitor-generating markets. These markets accounted for 49% of total visitor arrivals for the month.

• Singapore gazetted hotels were estimated to generate S$125 million in room revenue, representing a decrease of 33.3% versus March 2008.

• The Average Room Rate (ARR) in March 2009 was estimated at S$196, representing a decrease of 18.5% over March2008. The Average Occupancy Rate (AOR) for gazetted hotels was estimated to reach 74% in March 2009, posting a 13.1 percentage point decrease over March 2008. Revenue Per Available Room (Revpar) decreased by 30.9% to reach S$145 for March 2009.

Full details of the tourism sector performance is available at the STB website.