Why it's no fun and games for the leisure industry this year

Tourists won’t be aplenty.

Singapore's tourism industry may see subdued growth this year as leisure demand is expected to be muted.

According to OCBC Investment Research, the Singapore Tourism Board is forecasting a 0-2% increase in tourist arrivals and a 1-4% increase in tourism receipts.

Corporate demand is also expected to remain soft, with oil majors’ capex forecast to recover slowly after last year’s decline.

"Furthermore, our channel checks suggest that some multinational firms are taking a wait-and-see approach with regard to Trump’s policies before making business decisions, especially those involving longer-term commitments in expat hires," said OCBC.

For this year, RevPARs are expected to continue their decline with a forecast 5.9% growth in hotel rooms and tepid economic growth outlook.

"In addition, with FY17 being an odd-numbered year, we expect the MICE (meetings, incentives, conferencing, exhibitions) events calendar to be less packed for corporates. However, RevPARs are expected to improve in FY18 given our projections of a better supply-demand dynamic," noted OCBC.