Hotels report near-90 per cent occupancy during F1 weekend

Businesses in the area enjoy spike in earnings, but some are affected by traffic diversions

- Fatimah Mujibah and Deepanraj Ganesan

Harry's International's Boat Quay outlet typically serves about 100 customers on Sundays, but this ballooned to 638 this past Sunday, the final day of the Formula One Singapore Grand Prix weekend.

To cope with the anticipated swell of thirsty revellers, the bar and dining chain had already added three part-time workers to its six employees at the outlet.

But staff from Harry's quieter outlets had to be deployed to Boat Quay and other busier bars after managers noted higher-than-anticipated turnouts.

"This F1 weekend is testament to the fact that we, as a country, have recovered from the pandemic," said Mr Nasen Thiagarajan, chief executive of the chain with 19 outlets.

Harry's was among businesses that benefited from the return of the F1 race after a two-year break because of the Covid-19 pandemic. The Sept 30-Oct 2 race drew a record 302,000 crowd, surpassing the previous best of 300,000 during the inaugural race in 2008.

Foreign visitors accounted for 49 per cent of racegoers in 2022, said race organiser Singapore GP.

The Singapore Hotel Association (SHA) said that hotels here saw a near-90 per cent occupancy rate during the F1 weekend, based on insights from data company STR.