Singapore - The global economic downturn is putting the brakes on Singapore's tourism industry as visitor arrivals fell 12.9 per cent year-on-year in January to
771,000, the Singapore Tourism Board said Friday.

The average occupancy rate in Singapore's hotels was estimated at 67 per cent last month, a fall of 17.7 percentage points from January 2008.

Room revenue came to 124 million Singapore dollars (80 million US dollars), down 29.9 per cent from January last year.

However, another 10 hotels are to open this year in Singapore, adding more than 4,000 new rooms to the current 39,000 hotel rooms in the island state, local media reports said. (dpa)