There has been a sharp drop in the number of tourist arrivals from Singapore.
Business daily The Edge recently reported that there was a year-on-year drop in tourist arrivals from the island republic, from 12.4 million in 2017 to 10.6 million in 2018. Leong said the government must update the laws to keep up with the latest travel and tourism trends, where more visitors are coming in as FITs than in tour groups.
“We need new regulations, just like how we have adapted to Grab. If you do not regulate them, they will operate outside the law,” he said. He said Japan and South Korea drew more tourists from Singapore last year and attributed this to increased interest in television programmes from the two countries, better connectivity to other parts of Japan such as Hokkaido and Okinawa, as well as more affordable travel packages.