“Unless we have a return to international business, the hotel industry is going to be decimated as up to 90% of our bookings come from international travellers,” said Michael Issenberg, chief executive officer of Accor SA’s Asia Pacific unit, the largest hotel operator in Singapore.
(July 7): In Indonesia, locals can soon fly from Jakarta to the beaches of Bali for a domestic vacation. Tokyo residents can escape the pandemic stress with a hike up Mount Fuji, and New Yorkers can head to the Hamptons on Long Island.
Residents of Singapore, a city-state smaller than New York City, have few such options, presenting a massive problem for its battered tourism industry. With borders closed to foreigners, hotels and tourist attractions need to count on ‘staycationers’ to plug the gap in an industry that brought in almost US$20 billion ($27.84 billion) in revenue last year. It’s a tall order.
