Inside Asian Gaming

IAG JAPAN FEB 2021 92 F ebruary 2011 marked the one-year anniversary of the opening of Singapore’s first integrated resort, Resorts World Sentosa, and Inside Asian Gaming marked the occasion by featuring the already hugely successful operation on the cover of its February 2011 edition. While still very early on in the Singapore growth story that RWS and its cross-city rival Marina Bay Sands helped inspire, the early numbers at that time were already hugely encouraging. As reported by IAG at the time, the first calendar year of operations for the two IRs (MBS opened in April 2010) saw Singapore’s tourist numbers grow 20% in 2010 to a record 11.6 million visitors – reversing declines in the previous two years – including an all-time monthly record at the time of 1.13 million arrivals in December 2010. Accordingly, RWS itself welcomed 15 million visitors in its first year with occupancy of around 70% at its original four hotels. There were also two million 10 YEARS AGO