Visitor arrivals in Singapore rose 8.4% in November from a year earlier, the highest growth for 2009, the Singapore Tourism Board (STB) said today.

The STB said there were 830,000 visitors in November.

Tourists also spent more time in Singapore in November, leading to the first year-on-year growth in 2009 for visitor-days, which edged up 0.7% to an estimated 3.1 million days.

Average hotel room rates fell 15.1% to $198, although occupancy rose 3.8 percentage points from a year ago to 84.3%.

Singapore is trying to expand tourism as part of efforts to reduce its reliance on manufacturing. Two multi-billion-dollar casino-resorts — one operated by Las Vegas Sands (LVS.N) and the other by Genting Singapore (GNTG.SI) — are scheduled to open next year.