A study in the seasonal variation of Japanese tourist arrivals in Singapore

Abstract

Among the major overseas tourism markets for Singapore (besides the neighbouring ASEAN countries), Japan is the second largest. The number of Japanese visitors to Singapore had increased from 0.38 million in 1985 to 0.84 million in 1998, an increase of almost 121 per cent. In terms of the share of Japanese tourists in the domestic tourism market, it had only increased from 12.4 to 13.5 per cent. To attract more Japanese visitors, it helps to have a clear understanding of the pattern of Japanese tourist arrivals so that different promotion strategies can be devised and implemented. In this paper, we analyzed the pattern of arrivals by focusing on seasonal indices. The study found that the seasonal indices of Japanese tourist arrivals are stable over time. Policy implications of the finding were also discussed.