Singapore visitor arrivals fell 13 pct in May

Visitor arrivals in Singapore fell for the 12th consecutive month in May, the government said on Friday, dropping 13 percent from a year ago as the global recession and outbreak of H1N1 flu discouraged travel.

The Singapore Tourism Board (STB) said in a statement that 725,000 people visited the city-state last month compared with 834,000 a year ago.

The total number of days spent by tourists in Singapore fell a smaller 10.6 percent to 3.1 million days.

The May figure was also below April's 779,000 visitor arrivals

Singapore had been planning to expand its tourism business. Two large casino-resorts -- one operated by Las Vegas Sands ( LVS - news - people ) , and the other by Genting Singapore -- are scheduled to open their doors early next year.

The two casino-resorts will add over a thousand hotel rooms to the city-state at a time when occupancy and rates are falling.

STB said the average hotel room rate in Singapore fell 25.4 percent to S$184 in May from a year ago, while occupancy fell to 69 percent, down 12.2 percentage point from the same period.

SINGAPORE, June 26 (Reuters)