SINGAPORE, Aug 18 (Bernama-Xinhua) -- Singapore's tourism arrivals are expected to grow 0.5 per cent year on year in 2026 to 17 million, down from the previous forecast of 4.5 per cent as regional travel demand remains subdued amid the unresolved US-Iran conflict, BMI Country Risk and Industry Research said on Monday.
"The revision reflects our assumption that the unresolved US-Iran conflict will continue to weigh on travelers' willingness to route through the region," the research house said in a note.
Singapore recorded 1.63 million visitor arrivals in July, down 2.9 per cent from a year earlier, according to Singapore Tourism Board data. BMI noted that this marked the fourth consecutive month of decline in arrival numbers.
For January-July, arrivals totalled 9.8 million, down 1.9 per cent year on year and 11.7 per cent below the corresponding 2019 level before the pandemic.
BMI also cut its average tourism arrivals growth forecast for 2026-2030 to 2.4 per cent from 3.9 per cent, pushing back expectations for a full recovery to pre-pandemic levels.
--NNN-BERNAMA-XINHUA