Businesses still in trouble if tourists don't return by 2021: survey

Singapore businesses call on local shoppers for support.

A staggering 90% of businesses surveyed in Singapore said that sustainability is likely to be severely to moderately impacted if tourists do not return by mid-2021 despite reporting improved sales in September and October, according to the American Express Business Recovery Research for Singapore.

More than half of the 300 local business decision makers surveyed said that their business cannot stay open for more than six months if sales do not recover to pre-COVID levels by end of December 2020.

As such, many of them need support from local shoppers to survive in the medium to long term in the absence of tourist spending, according to American Express.

“One in two cite that having regular customers encourage their friends and family to shop at their establishment, as well as having new customers is crucial to the recovery of their businesses,” the global services company said.