Singapore thinks Formula One racing will continue to pull in tourists

Singapore will encourage tourists to spend more by offering marquee events and attractions such as the Formula One night race as a faltering global recovery threatens to curtail growth in visitor arrivals.

The country’s five biggest tourism markets are located in the Asia-Pacific region where there’s “steady growth,” said S. Iswaran, Singapore’s second trade minister who oversees the tourism industry. This has offset concerns that Europe’s protracted sovereign-debt crisis may limit travel, he said.

Singapore forecast arrivals to rise to 17 million and tourism spending to S$30 billion ($24.5 billion) by 2015. The opening of two casino resorts that include a downtown convention center and a Universal Studios theme park spurred a 13 percent increase in visitors last year after a 20 percent climb in 2010. The country expects the number of tourists to rise as much as 9.8 percent to 14.5 million in 2012.