Singapore will encourage tourists to "spend more by offering marquee events and attractions" such as the F1 night race as a faltering global recovery threatens to curtail growth in visitor arrivals, according to Sharon Chen of BLOOMBERG. Singapore's Second Trade Minister S. Iswaran revealed that the F1 night race, which is in its fifth year, attracts about 40,000 visitors to the island annually and "adds an average of S$140M ($114M) to tourism revenue." This year’s Grand Prix will take place this weekend. Companies such as Singapore Telecommunications Ltd. and UBS AG have been attracted by the F1 race and "have flown in clients and partners for networking events around the race." Entertainment is seen as a "key component," and tickets to this year's race offer access to concerts by performers including Maroon 5, Katy Perry and Jay Chou. Senior Regional Economist at Barclays Plc in Singapore Wai Ho Leong said, "There are a lot of events hosted around F1 that are pinned to the uniqueness of F1 as a night race. The race is important, but even more important are the deals that go around it, that are made here." Iswaran said that negotiations to extend Singapore’s contract for another five years are under way, and "both parties will decide before the middle of '13" (BLOOMBERG, 9/19).
