Mar 19
Daryl Loo

Experts say if Singapore gets the green light to the Formula One (F1) race, hotels in the Marina Bay area stand to benefit the most.

That's because the most likely route for the races will be through the downtown district.

And this will boost tourism, as well as occupancy and room rates.

At flag-off, the F1 race cars could take a circuit through much of Singapore's downtown area.

They could zip by sights such as Suntec City, the Esplanade theatres, Padang, and the future Integrated Resort.

So hotels along the route with commanding views of the races, such as the Fullerton, Ritz-Carlton Millenia and Swissotel the Stamford, could expect full occupancy and premium rates when the races are being held.

"Experience shows that the hotel industry will be the first to benefit from having a Formula One. The rooms will be booked up, there's no doubt about that, and prices will be maintained high. Because of the number of people that are coming down, and with the rooms booking up, they'll probably be taking rooms all the way to the neighbouring country also, just to see the races here," said Christopher Khoo, MD of MasterConsult Services.

The front-runner to organise the race is hotelier Ong Beng Seng, who is making a bid in his personal capacity.

His listed Hotel Properties Limited, which owns buildings such as the Hilton Hotel and Forum the Shopping Mall, could also benefit from the economic spin-offs.

The high cost is likely to be an issue. Hosting the race could set organisers back by as much as US$75 million for a weekend.

"Such events are expensive to organise. So for Singapore moving forward, a cost-sharing approach will be better. That would involve partnership between the private sector and government agencies, who can work together to ensure that if Singapore hosts the Formula One racing event, it is well orchestrated and well staged," said Associate Professor Prem Shamdasani at NUS Business School.

"It takes into consideration all the other activities that such an event can generate, to ensure long-term sustainability and to ensure that such an event actually makes an impact globally for Singapore."

And that's why earlier this month, Minister of State for Trade and Industry S Iswaran said the government is committed to offer financial and other forms of support to organisers of a Singapore F1 race.