tourism issues in singapore

Singapore expects full tourism recovery by 2024

• Medium Text

Sign up here.

Reporting by Chen Lin; Additional reporting by Anshuman Daga; Editing by Kanupriya Kapoor

Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles. New Tab , opens new tab

Thomson Reuters

Chen Lin was a reporter with the Singapore bureau until 2023, covering macroeconomics and general news in Singapore.

Kim Ki Nam, one of the longest-serving North Korean officials who served all three generations of its leaders cementing their political legitimacy and heading the propaganda apparatus for the dynastic state, has died, official media said on Wednesday.

Australia said on Wednesday it would raise the amount of savings international students will need to get a visa and warned several colleges of fraudulent student recruitment practices, as part of efforts to rein in record migration.

World Chevron

Taiwan says its military is ready for China moves around new president's inaugural

Taiwan's military is prepared for any moves China may make around the time President-elect Lai Ching-te takes office later this month, the island's deputy defence minister said on Wednesday.

• Latest News
• Commentaries
• Video Gallery
• Photo Gallery

• Organisation Chart
• Board of Trustees
• International Advisory Panel
• Director & Chief Executive Officer
• Senior Advisor
• Deputy Chief Executive Officer
• Researchers
• Corporate Services
• Corporate Communications
• Information Technology (IT)
• Sustainability
• Annual Report 2022-2023
• Career Opportunities
• Wang Gungwu Visiting Fellows Programme
• ISEAS PhD Scholarship
• K S Sandhu Graduate Scholarship
• Tun Dato Sir Cheng-Lock Tan MA Scholarship
• Information Kit on Relocation to Singapore
• ASEANFocus+
• State of Southeast Asia Survey
• Books on ASEAN
• Useful Links
• ISEAS Books
• ISEAS Perspective
• ISEAS Commentaries
• Temasek Working Paper Series
• Archaeology Programme for Students
• Banteay, Phnom Kulen
• Banten Lama
• Bukit Brown Documentation Project
• Don Meas and Pream Kre, Phnom Kulen
• Fort Canning Spice Garden
• National Gallery Singapore
• Victoria Concert Hall
• Other capacity building projects
• Nalanda-Sriwijaya Centre archives
• Regional Economic Studies
• Regional Social & Cultural Studies
• Regional Strategic & Political Studies
• Indonesia Studies
• Malaysia Studies
• Myanmar Studies
• Philippine Studies
• Thailand Studies
• Vietnam Studies
• Climate Change in Southeast Asia Programme
• NHB Heritage Research Grant
• Introduction
• Library Blog
• Library Catalogue & Digital Archives
• Microform Collection
• Photographs, Glass Plates and Slides
• Private Papers
• Resource Guide
• Subscribed Resources
• Resource Guide – ASEAN
• Resource Guide – Indonesia
• Resource Guide – Malaysia
• Resource Guide – Myanmar
• Resource Guide – Singapore
• Resource Guide – Climate Change
• ISEAS Archives
• Opening Hours
• Library Services
• Become a Member
• Galleries in the Library
• Contemporary Southeast Asia
• Journal of Southeast Asian Economies
• Southeast Asian Affairs
• ISEAS Economics Working Papers
• Southeast Asia Climate Outlook
• Upcoming Events
• Event Highlights
• Regional Outlook Forum
• Singapore Lecture
• Get Involved with ISEAS
• Benefits of Giving
• Support ISEAS
• Donations FAQs
• Corporate Membership

Articles & Commentaries > ISEAS Perspective > 2021

2021/108 “COVID-19’s Economic Impact on Tourism in Singapore” by Joey Erh

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

• Prior to the pandemic, the tourism sector in Singapore had been steadily growing over the years. From 2007 to 2019, total international visitor arrivals and tourism receipts both grew annually at an average of 4.5% and 5.0% respectively.
• Amongst the five components of tourism receipts, the ‘Shopping’ component generates the highest total value added (VA), and so contributes the most to GDP. Individuals employed in the industries under the ‘Shopping’ component also enjoy the highest employee compensation coefficient.
• The GDP generated from all tourism receipts has remained relatively constant at around 4% over the years. However, since the pandemic, spending patterns have changed, resulting in a slight dip in the magnitude in VA captured per dollar of tourism receipt.
• Tourism from travel bubbles is not able to generate high VA such that it contributes significantly to GDP. They do however make a marked difference in industries that are highly tourist-oriented.
• To generate high VA from tourism, Singapore needs to implement travel bubbles with China, Indonesia, India, Australia, Malaysia and Japan. Unfortunately, such arrangements depend on the COVID-19 situation in both Singapore and these countries.

* Joey Erh is Research Officer with the Regional Economic Studies Programme at ISEAS – Yusof Ishak Institute. Her research interests include innovation of firms, labour and productivity and international economics.

Download PDF Version

INTRODUCTION

Singapore’s tourism industry has grown over the years and has become relatively sizeable. From 2007 to 2019, total international visitor arrivals and total tourism receipts both grew annually at an average of 4.5% and 5.0%, respectively. Within Southeast Asia, Singapore has the third highest amount in international tourism receipts, behind Thailand and Malaysia, amounting to US$20.4 billion in 2019 (World Bank, 2019). Globally, Singapore was the 25 th most visited country in the world (by number of arrivals) and had the 22 nd highest amount in international tourism receipts in 2019 (UNWTO, 2020).

Overall, there has been a steady growth in international arrivals and tourism receipts (Figure 1). However, the tourism industry was adversely affected in 2008-2009 due to the Great Financial Crisis; this downturn pales in comparison to the devastating impact of the COVID-19 pandemic; over the last three quarters, Singapore suffered a 43.2 – 99.5% decrease in number of visitors and 39.0 – 96.6% decrease in tourism receipts. For the sake of comparison, the largest decrease experienced during in Great Financial Crisis was for 2009 Q1 when international arrivals and tourist receipts fell by 13.6% and 18.2% year-on-year respectively. This is minuscule when compared to the recent decline.  

Source: (DOS, 2021a; STB, 2021)

HOW TOURISM AFFECTS SINGAPORE’S ECONOMY

Tourism contributes to the Singapore economy by increasing the demand for goods and services through tourist receipts. It also contributes through the demand for inputs used to produce these goods and services. For example, when tourists stay at hotels, they use the amenities provided and also dine in hotel restaurants. Thus, tourists’ demand for accommodation in turn generates demand for electricity and housekeeping services (other industries not part of the accommodations industry) and hotel restaurant dining services (within the accommodations industry) (Figure 2).

The effect of economic activity generated by tourism shown here is a sum of two sources. The first source effect is directly generated by the final demand industry which it is from (Accommodations industry). The second is the total value indirectly generated by tourism; the sum of all the effects generated by all other industries outside of the final demand industry producing inputs for the final demand industry (all other industries excluding accommodations). A sum of both the direct and indirect effect expresses the total economic effect of tourism.

Singapore’s tourism receipts have been segregated into five categories: Accommodations; Food and Beverages; Shopping; Sightseeing, Entertainment and Gaming, and; Others. The first three categories correspond to the accommodations, Food and Beverages services and retail trade industries, respectively. The ‘Sightseeing, Entertainment and Gaming’[1] component includes “entrance fees to attractions and nightspots, expenditure on day-tours, leisure events as well as entertainment in the Integrated Resorts (IRs)” (STB, 2020). This leaves the ‘Others’[2] component, which comprises of “expenditure on airfares on Singapore-based carriers, port taxes, local transportation, business, medical, education-related items and expenditure by transit/transfer visitors” (STB, 2020).[3]

EFFECT OF TOURISM RECEIPTS BY COMPONENTS

(a)   Value-Added (VA) Coefficient

Simply put, the value added (VA) generated is equivalent to the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) generated; a sum of the VA generated by all industries gives the GDP of Singapore. From a more technical perspective, value added is derived by subtracting the total cost of purchased inputs (e.g. intermediate and raw inputs from other industries) from the selling price. The VA coefficient captures the amount of VA generated for every $1000 of final goods purchased by tourists. A higher VA translates into a higher GDP.

Based on the data, tourists generate the greatest total VA by spending on the ‘Shopping’ component. The ‘shopping’ component also generates the greatest VA in indirect effects. On the other hand, spending on the ‘Others’ component generates the lowest total and indirect VA (Figure 3). In other words, it would be more beneficial for Singapore’s GDP if tourists were to spend more on the ‘Shopping’ component rather than on the ‘Others’ component.

Source: Author’s calculation based on (DOS, 2021b; STB, 2021)

This is a surprising find given that the industries under the ‘Shopping’ component are likely to have a high share of imports as inputs. Thus, a large share price paid for final goods by tourists is expected to be paid to imports instead of VA. One would expect the ‘SEG’ component to generate the highest total VA given that the primary inputs for this component are infrastructure and labour; infrastructure would likely have already been paid for from past investments.

(b)  Employee Compensation Coefficient

To better understand the impact tourism has on the salary of employees, we take a deeper look into the employee compensation coefficient of the primary input requirement coefficients of final demand. The employee compensation coefficient indicates the amount paid to employees for every $1000 of final output purchased by tourists.

Similar to the trends in VA, the impact on employee salaries is the greatest when tourists spend on ‘Shopping’ while the lowest impact is from spending on the ‘Others’ component. (Figure 4). About $427 of $1000 spent by tourists on ‘shopping’ are paid as employee salaries, while only about $328 is paid to workers employed in the ‘Others’ category.

Looking at the number of employed individuals in industries that are related to tourism spending categories,[4] there appears to be a slight increasing trend across all industries from 2010 to 2019. However, from 2019 to 2020, the number of employed residents in the wholesale & retail trade, public administration & education services and accomodation & food services sectors have fallen slightly. While not all changes observed can be attributed only to the lack of tourism in Singapore, overall, there seems to be a decrease in employment in these sectors related to tourism spending categories. Assuming that the total amount paid to employee salaries in these sectors remain the same, salary per capita would have increased. However, the total amount paid to employee salaries is likely to have decreased given the lack of demand for their services and the poorer economic outlook; employee salary per capita would have either remained the same or decreased.

O VERALL EFFECT OF TOURISM

To understand the overall impact tourism has on Singapore, a tourism coefficient is calculated based on the major components of tourism receipts and corresponding industries from the 2017 input-output tables (DOS, 2021b).[5]

(a)   Overall Value-added (VA) Coefficient

The overall VA coefficient provides an estimate of how much VA is generated for every $1000 spent by tourists, regardless of spending category. Over the last few years, the total VA generated has remained around $735 for every $1000 spent by tourists (Figure 6). However, it has dipped since the start of the pandemic in Q1 2020. The indirect and direct effects follow the same trend.

(b)  Overall Value-Added (VA) Coefficient

Similarly, the employee compensation coefficient has been kept at around $397 for every $1000 spent by tourists over the last few years (Figure 7). This has dipped quite a bit since the start of the pandemic in Q1 2020.

(c)   Reason for Change in Coefficient Magnitude

The change in coefficient magnitudes over the last few quarters for both VA and employee compensation can be explained by the change in tourists’ consumption pattern (Figure 8).  A greater share of tourism receipts was spent on the ‘Others’ component from Q2 2020 onwards (after the pandemic started), while the share of tourism receipts for ‘Shopping’ and ‘Accommodations’ fell and remained low. The ‘Others’ component has the lowest VA and employee compensation coefficient. On the other hand, both ‘Shopping’ and ‘Accommodations’ have the highest and second highest coefficients for both VA and employee compensation. With a larger share of spending on the ‘Others’ component and lower share of spending on ‘Shopping’ and ‘Accommodations’, the magnitude of the overall coefficient is pushed downwards.

Source: (DOS, 2021a)

There are a few possible explanations for the drastic change in the consumption pattern. For Q2 2020, the share of tourist expenditure on ‘Shopping’ and ‘SEG’ fell because all retail shops and tourist attractions were closed with the implementation of the ‘Circuit Breaker’ (CB). At the same time, the entry and transit ban implemented in late March was partially lifted in early June; foreigners were allowed to transit in Singapore and ‘Fast Lane arrangements were made for essential business and official travel between Singapore and six Chinese municipalities. Thus, since transit passengers’ expenditure fall under the ‘Others’ component, the relative share of expenditure spent under the ‘Others’ component rose. With only Chinese visitors, who seem to spend a relatively lower share on ‘Accomodations’ (STB,2021), on official business entering Singapore, the relative share of spending on ‘Accommodations’ fell.

From Q3 2020, ‘Reciprocal Green Lane’ and ‘Air Travel Pass’ arrangements were made with several countries.[6] These helped to increase the number of tourists, resulting in an increase in total amount of tourism receipts quarter-on-quarter (59%) and the ‘SEG’ and ‘Accommodations’ shares of expenditure. The ‘Others’ component was likely to have remained as a dominant expenditure component as transit passengers might have formed the bulk of Singapore’s visitors. In addition, with the increased inconvenience of travelling (e.g. multiple tests, stay-home notices), individuals are likely to only travel to Singapore for activities that cannot be delayed, such as medical treatment, education, and business-related matters; expenditure for all these also fall under the ‘Others’ component.

(d)  Tourism’s Contribution to GDP

By multiplying the tourism receipts with their respective VA multipliers, the total VA generated by tourism can be estimated. Prior to the pandemic, tourism’s contribution to GDP had been around 4% (Figure 9). To keep things simple, only direct and indirect effects were taken into consideration for the calculations. In reality, there are ‘induced’ effects on top of direct and indirect effects; induced effects capture the subsequent effects of purchases made by employees of the various industries increasing the impact magnitude of tourism spending. Thus, 4% is an underestimation of tourists’ contribution to the GDP. Based on past studies of the impact of tourism on Singapore’s GDP, incorporating the induced effects is likely to result in a significant jump in contribution (Khan et al., 1990). 

The pandemic has resulted in the implementation of tight travel restrictions and lockdowns, resulting in a severe drop in the number of tourists visiting our shores. Naturally, the amount of tourism receipts decreased drastically, resulting in a significant drop in contribution to GDP.

THE IMPACT OF TRAVEL BUBBLES

To help restart the tourism sector, the Singapore government has relaxed travel restrictions for tourists from certain countries and has also been in discussions to implement quarantine-free ‘travel bubbles’ with countries that have relatively low numbers of COVID-19 cases.

Considering travel bubbles with several countries[7] and foreigners allowed to travel to Singapore via the ‘Air Travel Pass’, the following would be the estimated value-added generated from tourism (Figure 10). The calculations assume that the tourists’ spending patterns and amounts remained the same as in 2019; and the number of arrivals is equivalent to 5% of the number tourists that visited in 2019.

As can be assumed from the sheer volume of Chinese tourists, the estimated value-added generated from Chinese tourists is the highest amongst the selected countries. While the numbers seem relatively high, the sum of VA generated from these countries’ tourists add up to only 0.06% of Singapore’s 2020 GDP figures.

To generate the highest VA, the Singapore government would ideally have extended the travel bubble arrangement to China, Indonesia, India, Australia, Malaysia and Japan. These countries have historically recorded the highest number of visitors and tourism expenditures per capita.[8] However, such arrangements are conditional on these countries’ number of COVID-19 cases.

Tourism has always contributed a relatively small share of Singapore’s GDP. Implementing travel bubbles with these countries is unlikely to rejuvenate the economy significantly. However, doing so will help correct the uneven demand for output from various industries i.e., generate demand for tourist-oriented industries that do not fit locals’ preferences. As shown previously, after the Singaporean government implemented the ‘Air Travel Pass’ and ‘Reciprocal Green Lane’ arrangements with several countries in Q3 2020, expenditure share of the ‘SEG’ component rose. Although the magnitude of impact might be low overall, the impact on individuals and businesses that rely greatly on tourism will still be significant.

There have been several assumptions made to derive the input-output tables,[9] one of which assumes that there is “no supply constraint” i.e. any required amount of input and labour can be provided to meet demand at the same fixed price. However, the pandemic has severely affected the availability of input and labour[10] for production;[11] supply chains have been disrupted while social distancing and travel restrictions have limited the movement and availability of labour for production. These changes are likely to have affected the price of inputs and labour, as demand and supply become imbalanced. In addition, consumption preferences and patterns were assumed to remain the same as before, an unlikely outcome after the pandemic.[12] Thus, the estimates made in this article are rough calculations, as the pandemic is likely to have changed the structure of the economy.

Amongst the five components of tourism receipts, ‘Shopping’ generates the highest VA (or GDP) per $1000 spent by tourists. The ‘Others’ component generates the lowest VA per $1000 spent.

For the overall tourism coefficients, the amount of VA generated per $1000 spent by tourists  have remained somewhat constant over the years. However, in the last three quarters, due to the pandemic, consumption patterns of tourists have changed significantly. The reduction and increase in the relative amount tourists spent on shopping and the ‘others’ component respectively resulted in a slight dip for both coefficients.

Individuals employed in the industries under the shopping component seem to enjoy a significantly higher employee compensation coefficient compared to the rest. Unfortunately, because of the change in tourist consumption habits, the overall tourism employee compensation coefficient has had a slight dip in magnitude over the last three quarters.

Accounting for all the industries involved, tourism has usually contributed about 4% of Singapore’s GDP annually, but its contribution share has dropped significantly due to the pandemic. While travel bubbles with selected countries appear to generate a notable amount of VA, relative to Singapore’s GDP figures, this is very minute. However, travel bubbles are still able to make a consequential positive impact on individuals and businesses belonging to industries that are tourist oriented.

R EFERENCES

DOS. (2019). Singapore Supply, Use and Input-Output Tables 2015 .

DOS. (2021a). Singapore Department of Statistics (DOS) | Singstat Website . https://www.singstat.gov.sg/

DOS. (2021b). Singapore Supply, Use and Input-Output Tables 2017 .

Khan, H., Seng, C. F., & Cheong, W. K. (1990). Tourism multiplier effects on Singapore.

Annals of Tourism Research , 17 (3), 408–418. https://doi.org/10.1016/0160-7383(90)90006-D

Sharma, A., Adhikary, A., & Borah, S. B. (2020). COVID-19’s Impact on Supply Chain Decisions: Strategic Insights from NASDAQ 100 firms using Twitter Data. Journal of Business Research , 117 , 443–449.

STB. (2020). Tourism Sector Performance Q3 2020 Report . https://www.stb.gov.sg/statistics-and-market-insights/Pages/statistics-Visitor-Arrivals.aspx

STB. (2021). Stan | Tourism Statistics . https://stan.stb.gov.sg/content/stan/en/tourism-statistics.html

Zwanka, R. J., & Buff, C. (2021). COVID-19 Generation: A Conceptual Framework of the Consumer Behavioral Shifts to be Caused by the COVID-19 Pandemic. Journal of International Consumer Marketing , 33 (1), 58–67.

Singapore’s Visitor Profiles

Based on data for 2016-2019, most of Singapore’s visitors arrived from Southeast Asia (35.2%), followed by Greater China (18.7%), then Europe (11.0%). The top five countries that visitors arrived from were China (18.7%), Indonesia (16.5%), India (7.5%), Malaysia (6.6%) and Australia (6.1%).

Given the high volume of visitors from these countries, one would expect the tourism receipts from these countries to share the same ranks. However, other than the top three countries remaining the same, the fourth was Australia, followed by Japan; tourism receipts from Malaysia were ranked sixth. This is due to the varied expenditure amounts, consumption patterns and purposes of visit of tourists from different countries. Amongst the top six contributors of tourism receipts, Japanese tourists had the highest tourism receipts per capita, followed by India, China, Australia, Indonesia and Malaysia (Figure A). The low tourism receipt per capital of Malaysian tourists explains the relatively lower amount of total tourism receipts from Malaysia despite the high number of tourists visiting.

Source: Author’s calculation based on (STB, 2021)

Output Coefficient

The output coefficient reflects the amount of output that is generated for an industry to produce $1000 of final output purchased by tourists.

Shopping has the highest total output coefficient and highest indirect coefficient; the final demand generated by tourism receipts from shopping requires the highest amount of output from all other industries. It also requires the highest amount of output from all industries, inclusive of its own (total effect) (Figure B)

This is contrary to the ‘Others’ components which has the highest direct output coefficient, but lowest indirect effect. Industries involved in the ‘Others’ component of tourism receipts require the most amount of inputs from their own industries, and least amount of inputs from other industries.

However, unlike the output coefficient, the ‘shopping’ component is closely followed behind by the SEG and Accommodations components. Moreover, the Food and Beverages component, the second highest for the total output coefficient, fell to fourth for the total VA coefficient and is the last for direct VA coefficient (Figure C). It implies that despite the high total output generated, the Food and Beverages component supports upstream industries that have relatively lower value add compared to industries of the other components.

ISEAS Perspective 2021/108, 13 August 2021

[1] For the ‘sightseeing, entertainment and gaming’ component a weighted average of the related industries is taken. The industries are (1) travel agency, tour operator and reservation services, (2) Arts and entertainment (3) Recreation and sports. The weights are determined by the relative value of exports of goods and services of each industry to better reflect the consumption patterns of a foreigner. 

[2] For the ‘others’ component a weighted average of the related industries is taken. The industries are (1) land transport (2) air transport (3) exhibitions, conventions, and other events (4) education and (5) health services. The weights are determined by the relative value of exports of goods and services of each industry to better reflect the consumption patterns of a foreigner. 

[3] The correspondence table for the expenditure components and input-output industries can be found in Annex 1.

[4] The ‘Accommodation’ and ‘Food and Beverages’ components correspond to ‘Accommodation & Food services. The ‘SEG’ component corresponds to ‘Arts, Entertainment & Recreation’. The ‘Shopping’ component corresponds to ‘Wholesale & Retail Trade’. The ‘Others’ component corresponds to ‘Health & Social Services’, ‘Transportation & Storage’ and ‘Public Administration & Education Services’.

[5] The overall coefficients were calculated by summing up the total VA/employee compensation generated for each component, then dividing it by the total tourism receipts.

[6] Reciprocal green lane arrangements were made with Malaysia, South Korea and Japan. Air Travel Pass arrangements were made with Brunei and New Zealand.

[7] Brunei has been excluded as no data on tourism receipts per capita was available.

[8] View Annex 3 for Singapore’s visitors’ profile based on 2016 – 2019 data.

[9] Other assumptions include: “(1) All establishments classified in the same industry have the same production process and input requirements, (2) All industries have fixed input requirement proportion relative to output (3) allocation of demand to users depends on the product and not the industry selling the product (4) users always demand the same mix of products from an industry.” (DOS, 2019)

[10] See “Developers to share soaring labour costs as COVID restrictions bite, Singapore rules” at https://www.globalconstructionreview.com/news/developers-share-soaring-labour-costs-covid-restri/

[11] See (Sharma et al., 2020)

[12] See (Zwanka & Buff, 2021)

• Organization Chart
• Deputy Director
• Key Non-Financial and Financial Information
• Annual Report
• Opportunities
• ASEAN Studies Centre
• Singapore APEC Study Centre
• Temasek History Research Centre
• Regional Social & Cultural Studies
• Regional Strategic & Political Studies
• Country Studies Programme
• Library Catalogue
• Collections & Resources
• Using the Library

Flagship Publications

Articles & commentaries.

• Trends in Southeast Asia

New! You can personalise your feed. Try it now

The Big Read in short: Can Singapore shed its image as a tourist stopover?

Advertisement.

SINGAPORE — While the humidity and heat may have bathed them in sweat, Australians Bryan and Christine Mansfield were smiling as they made their way to the Gardens by the Bay on Thursday (May 4).

Each week, TODAY’s long-running Big Read series delves into the trends and issues that matter. This week, we look at how Singapore's tourism sector looks set to recover to pre-pandemic levels and how the country can better attract tourists beyond building new attractions. This is a shortened version of the full feature, which can be found  here .

• Singapore's tourism arrival is set to return to pre-pandemic levels by 2024, after receiving more than 1 million visitors in March 2023 alone
• But the pandemic has changed tourism patterns, including a preference for single-destination holidays   and increasing interest in eco-tourism
• Singapore's integrated resorts — touted as a "gamechanger" when they opened in 2010 — are also set to face increased competition as Japan and Thailand start plans to build their own resorts
• For Singapore to stay relevant and continue drawing tourists, the answer does not lie in building another major attraction, said experts
• Rather, packaging attractions together and marketing Singapore better will be key to shedding the country's image as a layover destination and getting travellers to stay here longer

Loraine Lee

Their three-day holiday in Singapore marked the start of their golden jubilee celebrations — one that had been delayed by the Covid-19 pandemic.

“Singapore is always a layover stop for Australians looking to travel. The flights were cheaper than if we went straight to Bali, so we finally took the opportunity to stay here and travel,” said Mr Mansfield, who is in his 70s.

The couple are headed to Bali on Sunday before returning home Down Under.

Like other tourists who spoke to TODAY, Singapore was their first foreign destination since 2020 when the Covid-19 pandemic ground international travel to a halt.

However, the island is but a layover for them before they head to their main destinations, mostly within the Southeast Asian region.

WHY IT MATTERS?

Tourists such as the Mansfields are flocking back to Singapore a year after it reopened its borders and relaxed its Covid-19 restrictions. Amid increasing visitor arrivals, industry experts are predicting that tourist numbers will reach pre-pandemic levels by end-2024.

In the first quarter of this year, Singapore had 2.91 million visitor arrivals, with 1.02 million visitors in March alone.

Experts predict tourist arrivals this year will likely be between 12 million and 14 million, surpassing 2022’s 6.31 million figure but still below the record 19.1 million who visited Singapore in 2019.

However, the average length of stay in the first quarter of this year is 3.97 days, just slightly higher than 2019's average of 3.36.

But just as the pandemic has reshaped daily life, it has also led to changes in tourists’ travel patterns.

These changed travel habits include:

• Increased interest in eco-tourism and sustainability
• Preference for wellness tourism
• Going on single-destination holidays rather than country hop

Such a change will have an impact on countries such as Singapore that are regarded by many tourists as more of a stopover, even though the city-state has long projected itself as a worthy destination in its own right.

New travel patterns aside, Singapore’s tourism industry is also bracing itself for more challenges ahead with Asian countries such as Japan and Thailand planning to build their own integrated resorts (IRs) and casinos.

Amid changes in the tourism scene, the Singapore Tourism Board (STB) — which is set to have a new chief executive and assistant chief executive of its marketing group — will have its work cut out for it as it ponders over the million-dollar question: What does Singapore need to do to keep the tourists coming in ever-increasing numbers?

THE BIG PICTURE

Mr Chang Chee Pey, assistant chief executive of STB’s marketing group, told TODAY in April that the board has crafted 10 traveller portraits that represent the country’s target audience. They are:

• Special Occasion Traveller
• Active Holiday Planner
• Family Getaways
• Entertainment Seeker
• Outdoor Adventurer
• City Explorer
• Sports-Mad Nomad
• Culinary Explorer
• Work-life Integration
• Wellness Seeker

STB’s current chief executive Keith Tan also shared the board’s outlook for Singapore’s tourism for 2023 and beyond during the STB Tourism Industry Conference 2023 on April 5, calling 2023 “the year we return to our pursuit of quality growth”.

To do so, STB said it will focus on 3 “Rs” — redefining our destination; reconnecting with our fans; and reinventing our industry.

The 3 “Rs” are timely, experts told TODAY, as travel habits have changed post-pandemic, and the tourism industry needs to adapt.

THE BOTTOM LINE

The solution to drawing more tourists here and getting them to stay longer lies not in building another IR or major attraction, especially given the constraints of Singapore’s small size, said tourism experts. 

Rather, Singapore needs to promote itself better, package attractions together and ensure that its offerings provide visitors with a good experience that keeps the country on the list of the world’s top destinations.

This would also entail consistently refreshing and enhancing existing attractions. 

Citing Bird Paradise — the upgraded former Jurong Bird Park — which is set to open on May 8 with much fanfare as an example, they said that this will keep tourists coming to Singapore again to see what are its latest offerings.

The two IRs here  — Marina Bay Sands and Resorts World Sentosa — which were dubbed gamechangers when they opened in 2010 to much fanfare, have also committed a total of S$9 billion investment into upgrading non-gaming facilities.

In exchange, the Government has granted both integrated resorts exclusivity for their casinos up till end-2030.

Dr Kevin Cheong, managing partner at Syntegrate, a tourism and destination development consultancy, said that two IRs could also do more to better integrate themselves with neighbouring stakeholders.

“Resorts World Sentosa can be even more integrated with Sentosa, VivoCity and in the future, the Pulau Brani precinct (also known as the Greater Southern Waterfront) as a holistic destination; and, Marina Bay Sands, together with the Central Business District, Gardens by The Bay and Marina Bay, can work as an integrated multi-dimensional destination.”

This could create a more encompassing destination, which if packaged well, can encourage tourists to stay longer and to indulge in these different destinations within Singapore, Dr Cheong added.

Associate Professor in Practice Terence Ho of the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy also said Singapore could further tap into its “software” in terms of its heritage and food culture to attract tourists.

“Much of our history and heritage is encapsulated in our cuisine — we can tell stories about the origins and special meaning that certain dishes have, and showcase the care and craft that go into creating dining experiences.

“It can be argued that Singapore food and culture has similarities with our neighbours, but what can set us apart is how we tell our food story in a way that is evocative and resonates with travellers,” he said.

As for the different target profiles that STB is targetting, marketing and tourism experts said it would not muddle Singapore’s image. In fact, specialised and targeted marketing is the way to go, they added.

Mr Christopher Khoo, the managing director of tourism consultancy MasterConsult Services, pointed to fast fashion retailer Shein’s highly successful strategy — it has relied on hyper-targeted social media marketing — as something which Singapore can adopt in trying to reach out to multiple audiences.

Such specialised marketing allows Singapore to reach out to potential visitors better, and showcases how it has everything for everyone, he said.

Mr Kevin Wee, a senior lecturer from Nanyang Polytechnic’s School of Business Management, added: “Instead of focusing on visitors from a specific country or demographic group, they can now run targeted campaigns for specific archetypes based on latest market trends, technological fads or even market conditions.

“This also gives them the flexibility to roll out targeted campaigns that allow one destination to cater to a few specific groups, or for a specific group to visit different destinations within a customised tour.”

Related topics

Read more of the latest in

Stay in the know. Anytime. Anywhere.

Subscribe to get daily news updates, insights and must reads delivered straight to your inbox.

By clicking subscribe, I agree for my personal data to be used to send me TODAY newsletters, promotional offers and for research and analysis.

Recent Searches

This browser is no longer supported.

We know it's a hassle to switch browsers but we want your experience with TODAY to be fast, secure and the best it can possibly be.

To continue, upgrade to a supported browser or, for the finest experience, download the mobile app.

Upgraded but still having issues? Contact us

Travel, Tourism & Hospitality

Tourism and hotel industry in Singapore - statistics & facts

Singapore as a must-visit tourist destination, recovering from the covid-19 pandemic and its impact on tourism, key insights.

Detailed statistics

Tourism direct contribution as share of GDP Singapore 1995-2029

Tourism receipts Singapore 2013-2022

Hotel room revenue in Singapore 2013-2022

Editor’s Picks Current statistics on this topic

Current statistics on this topic.

Number of international visitor arrivals in Singapore 2013-2022

Related topics

Recommended.

• Tourism in Malaysia
• Travel and tourism in Indonesia
• Tourism industry in Thailand
• Tourism industry in Vietnam
• Tourism industry in the Philippines

Recommended statistics

• Premium Statistic International tourist arrivals in Asia 2020, by country
• Premium Statistic Tourism sector GDP share in Asia 2020, by country
• Premium Statistic Per capita international tourism expenditure in Asia 2020, by country
• Basic Statistic Value of international tourism spending APAC 2022, by country

International tourist arrivals in Asia 2020, by country

Ranking of the international tourist arrivals in Asia by country 2020 (in millions)

Tourism sector GDP share in Asia 2020, by country

Ranking of the tourism sector GDP share in Asia by country 2020

Per capita international tourism expenditure in Asia 2020, by country

Ranking of the international tourism expenditure per capita in Asia by country 2020 (in U.S. dollars)

Value of international tourism spending APAC 2022, by country

Value of international tourism expenditure in the Asia-Pacific region in 2022, by country or territory (in billion U.S. dollars)

Economic impact

• Premium Statistic Tourism direct contribution as share of GDP Singapore 1995-2029
• Premium Statistic Number of people employed in accommodation and food services Singapore 2014-2023
• Premium Statistic Tourism receipts Singapore 2013-2022
• Premium Statistic Tourism receipts of Singapore 2022, by country
• Premium Statistic Tourism receipts per capita Singapore 2013-2022
• Premium Statistic Distribution of tourism receipts in Singapore 2022, by main components

Direct contribution of the tourism industry as a share of the gross domestic product in Singapore from 1995 to 2019 with forecasts until 2029

Number of people employed in accommodation and food services Singapore 2014-2023

Number of people employed in the accommodation and food services sector in Singapore from June 2014 to June 2023 (in 1,000s)

Tourism receipts in Singapore from 2013 to 2022 (in billion Singapore dollars)

Tourism receipts of Singapore 2022, by country

Tourism receipts in Singapore in 2022, by country (in billion Singapore dollars)

Tourism receipts per capita Singapore 2013-2022

Per capita tourism receipts in Singapore from 2013 to 2022 (in Singapore dollars)

Distribution of tourism receipts in Singapore 2022, by main components

Share of tourism receipts in Singapore 2022, by main components

Visitor arrivals

• Premium Statistic Number of international visitor arrivals in Singapore 2013-2022
• Premium Statistic Number of international visitor arrivals Singapore 2022, by leading markets
• Premium Statistic International visitor arrival numbers Singapore 2022, by mode of arrival
• Premium Statistic Average length of stay of inbound arrivals Singapore 2013-2022
• Premium Statistic Frequency of visits to Singapore 2019

Number of international visitor arrivals in Singapore from 2013 to 2022 (in millions)

Number of international visitor arrivals Singapore 2022, by leading markets

Number of international visitor arrivals to Singapore in 2022, by leading markets (in 1,000s)

International visitor arrival numbers Singapore 2022, by mode of arrival

International visitor arrival numbers in Singapore in 2022, by mode of arrival (in 1,000s)

Average length of stay of inbound arrivals Singapore 2013-2022

Average length of stay of inbound arrivals in Singapore from 2013 to 2022 (by number of nights)

Frequency of visits to Singapore 2019

Frequency of visits to Singapore in 2019

Hotel industry

• Premium Statistic Number of hotels and similar establishments Singapore 2011-2020
• Premium Statistic Number of rooms in hotels and similar establishments Singapore 2011-2020
• Premium Statistic Hotel room revenue in Singapore 2013-2022
• Premium Statistic Standard average room rate in Singapore 2013-2022
• Premium Statistic Revenue per available hotel room (RevPar) in Singapore 2013-2022
• Premium Statistic Standard average occupancy rate (AOR) in Singapore 2013-2022
• Premium Statistic Accommodation choices of visitors to Singapore 2019

Number of hotels and similar establishments Singapore 2011-2020

Number of hotels and similar establishments in Singapore from 2011 to 2020

Number of rooms in hotels and similar establishments Singapore 2011-2020

Number of rooms in hotels and similar establishments in Singapore from 2011 to 2020 (in 1,000s)

Revenue from hotel rooms in Singapore from 2013 to 2022 (in billion Singapore dollars)

Standard average room rate in Singapore 2013-2022

Standard average room rate in Singapore from 2013 to 2022 (in Singapore dollars)

Revenue per available hotel room (RevPar) in Singapore 2013-2022

Revenue per available hotel room (RevPar) in Singapore from 2013 to 2022 (in Singapore dollars)

Standard average occupancy rate (AOR) in Singapore 2013-2022

Standard average occupancy rate (AOR) in Singapore from 2013 to 2022

Accommodation choices of visitors to Singapore 2019

Accommodation choices of visitors to Singapore in 2019

Tourism activities

• Premium Statistic Main purpose of international visits to Singapore 2019
• Premium Statistic Distribution of international visits to tourist attractions Singapore 2019
• Premium Statistic Distribution of international visits to free tourist attractions Singapore 2019
• Premium Statistic Most popular shopping items purchased by international tourists in Singapore 2019

Main purpose of international visits to Singapore 2019

Main purpose of international visits to Singapore in 2019

Distribution of international visits to tourist attractions Singapore 2019

Share of international tourists who visited the top tourist attractions in Singapore in 2019

Distribution of international visits to free tourist attractions Singapore 2019

Share of international tourists visiting the leading free tourist attractions in Singapore in 2019

Most popular shopping items purchased by international tourists in Singapore 2019

Share of international tourists in Singapore who purchased the following items during their stay there in 2019

Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic

• Premium Statistic YoY change in monthly international visitor arrivals in Singapore 2020-2023
• Premium Statistic Tourism receipts Singapore Q1 2019-Q2 2023
• Premium Statistic Quarterly hotel room revenue Singapore Q1 2019-Q1 2023

YoY change in monthly international visitor arrivals in Singapore 2020-2023

Year-on-year change in monthly international visitor arrivals to Singapore from February 2020 to June 2023

Tourism receipts Singapore Q1 2019-Q2 2023

Tourism receipts in Singapore from 1st quarter 2019 to 2nd quarter of 2023 (in billion Singapore dollars)

Quarterly hotel room revenue Singapore Q1 2019-Q1 2023

Quarterly hotel room revenue in Singapore from 1st quarter 2019 to 1st quarter 2023 (in million Singapore dollars)

Further reports Get the best reports to understand your industry

Get the best reports to understand your industry.

Mon - Fri, 9am - 6pm (EST)

Mon - Fri, 9am - 5pm (SGT)

Mon - Fri, 10:00am - 6:00pm (JST)

Mon - Fri, 9:30am - 5pm (GMT)

• Board Of Directors
• Organisation Chart
• Achieving Quality Tourism
• Legislation
• Corporate Governance
• Invest in Tourism
• ASEAN Economic Community
• Media Releases
• Corporate Publications
• Newsletters
• Statistics & Market Insights Overview
• Tourism Statistics
• Industries Overview
• Arts & Entertainment
• Attractions
• Dining & Retail
• Integrated Resorts
• Meetings, Incentives, Conventions & Exhibitions
• Tourist Guides
• Travel Agents
• Assistance and Licensing Overview
• Tourism Sustainability Programme (TSP)
• Singapore Visitor Centre (SVC) Network Partnership
• Grants Overview
• Licensing Overview
• Tax Incentives Overview
• Other Assistance & Resources Overview
• SG Stories Content Fund Season 2
• Marketing Partnership Programme
• SingapoReimagine Marketing Programme
• Singapore On-screen Fund
• Hotel Licensing Regulations
• Data College
• Trade Events and Activities
• Trade Events Overview
• SingapoReimagine Global Conversations
• SingapoRediscovers Vouchers
• Made With Passion
• Joint Promotion Opportunities
• Procurement Opportunities for STB's Overseas Regional Offices
• Product And Industry Updates
• Rental of F1 Pit Building
• Singapore Tourism Accelerator
• Sponsorship Opportunities
• STB Marketing College
• Tourism Innovation Challenge
• Harnessing Technology to Emerge Stronger Post COVID-19
• Tourism Transformation Index (TXI)
• New Tourism Development in Jurong Lake District
• International Trade Events
• Singapore Familiarization Trips
• EVA-Ready Programme
• Tourism Industry Conference
• Expo 2025 Sponsorship and Partnership Opportunities
• Students & Fresh Graduates
• Professionals
• Attractions Operator
• Business/Leisure Event Organiser
• Media Professional
• Tourist Guide
• Travel Agent

Singapore’s tourism sector recovers strongly in 2022, visitor numbers expected to double in 2023

International arrivals exceed forecast to hit 6.3 million, tourism receipts reach an estimated $14 billion amid growing demand

Singapore, 17 January 2023 – Singapore’s international visitor arrivals (IVA) reached 6.3 million in 2022 (~33 per cent of 2019 IVA), exceeding STB’s forecast of between 4 and 6 million visitors. Tourism receipts (TR) are estimated to reach $13.8 to $14.3 billion[1] (~50 per cent to 52 per cent of 2019 TR). Barring unexpected circumstances, tourism activity is now expected to recover to pre-pandemic levels by 2024.

Mr Keith Tan, Chief Executive, Singapore Tourism Board (STB), said: “Our 2022 tourism performance underscores Singapore’s appeal as a leading business and leisure destination for post-pandemic travellers. To sustain our growth in 2023 and beyond, we will expand our partnerships, build up a rich year-round calendar of events, ramp up investment in new and refreshed products and experiences, and continue to support industry efforts to build the capabilities they need to meet consumer demands.”

2022 Tourism Performance

Visitor arrivals were driven by strong demand from Singapore’s key source markets, led by Indonesia (1.1 million), India (686,000) and Malaysia (591,000).

TR reached $8.96 billion between January to September 2022. The top TR generating markets were Indonesia, India and Australia, which contributed $1.1 billion, $704 million, and $633 million respectively in TR (excluding Sightseeing, Entertainment and Gaming)[2].

Visitors are also spending more time in Singapore compared to before the pandemic. For the last three quarters of the year (April-December 2022) when Singapore no longer required quarantine for fully-vaccinated travellers, the average length of stay was approximately 4.81 days[3]. This is a significant increase compared to 3.36 days for the same period in 2019.

Key Industry Performance

MICE and Leisure Events

The resumption of MICE[4] events picked up pace in 2022, following the easing of border restrictions and safe management measures.

Marquee international events returned to Singapore, including Food and Hotel Asia – Food & Beverage and Food and Hotel Asia – HoReCa, which took place as two dedicated trade shows for the first time, ITB Asia, and Singapore Fintech Festival, which attracted a record turnout from over 115 countries. STB also secured new events like FIND: Design Fair Asia as well as Global Health Security Conference 2022 and the 14th World Stroke Congress, which reinforced Singapore's leadership in key industry clusters.

Singapore’s calendar of leisure and sporting events also recovered strongly. The Formula 1 Singapore Airlines Singapore Grand Prix 2022 – held after a two-year hiatus – drew a record attendance of 302,000; the Tour de France Prudential Singapore Criterium also made its Southeast Asian debut. Regular crowd-pleasers such as the Singapore Food Festival, Christmas Wonderland, Christmas on A Great Street at Orchard Road, the Marina Bay Singapore Countdown and ZoukOut Singapore were all organised successfully and drew visitors from around the world.

Hotels Industry Performance

Singapore’s hotel industry also posted an encouraging year due to stronger demand for leisure and business travel. From April to December 2022[5], the Average Occupancy Rate (AOR) was 79.1 per cent, compared to 87.3 per cent recorded in the same period in 2019. Average room rates during this period increased by 17 per cent to $260, while Revenue per Available Room (RevPAR) increased by 6.2 per cent to $206.

Singapore welcomed a total of 465 new keys in 2022 with the opening of new hotels like the Citadines Connect City and Garden Pod @ Gardens By The Bay Centre. New brands like Hotel Telegraph (formerly known as SO Singapore), Pullman Singapore Orchard (formerly known as Grand Park Orchard), voco Orchard Singapore (formerly known as Hilton Singapore at 581 Orchard Road) and Vibe Hotel Singapore Orchard (formerly known as Elizabeth Hotel) were also introduced. These investments underscored the private sector’s confidence in Singapore’s tourism prospects.

Cruise Industry Performance

Singapore’s position as a regional cruise hub strengthened in 2022 with more than 230 ship calls. Passenger throughput was 1.2 million, which is about two-thirds of pre-pandemic levels in 2019. The return of cruising was supported by the year-round deployment of Resorts World Cruises’ Genting Dream and Royal Caribbean International’s Quantum/Spectrum of the Seas . Following the resumption of sailings with ports of call in July, two new cruise lines made Singapore their seasonal homeport[6]:

·       STB’s new three-year partnership with Silversea Cruises will see its ships homeport seasonally in Singapore till the 2024/2025 season, with Silver Muse kicking off the first sailing from Singapore in December 2022.

·       TUI Cruises' Mein Schiff 5 also returned to Southeast Asia in December 2022, starting their three-year seasonal homeport from Singapore and taking passengers to ports in Southeast Asia.

Singapore also welcomed the return of transit and turnaround sailings[7] from Cunard, Seabourn Cruises, Viking Cruises, Oceania Cruises and Regent Seven Seas Cruises in 2022.

2022 Highlights

Branded Collaborations and Strategic Partnerships

To keep Singapore top-of-mind and rebuild demand, STB scaled up its SingapoReimagine campaign across 17 markets. It also increased Singapore’s appeal to consumers through innovative partnerships.

For example, STB collaborated with media and entertainment companies such as Warner Bros. Discovery and Studio Dragon, as well as celebrities Billie Eilish, Charlie Puth and Jackson Wang to inspire travel to Singapore through authentic and creative storytelling. STB also forged strategic partnerships with industry leaders such as Singapore Airlines, Scoot, CapitaLand, Expedia, Klook and Visa to promote Singapore, exchange insights and enhance the visitor experience.

Enhanced Destination Attractiveness

Singapore welcomed new and enhanced experiences, including the Children’s Museum Singapore; Avatar: The Experience at Gardens by the Bay; Sentosa’s Night Luge, Scentopia, Wings of Time and Central Beach Bazaar; a new gallery at ArtScience Museum’s Future World: “ Exploring New Frontiers” ; A Minion’s Perspective Experience at Resorts World Sentosa; Mr Bucket Chocolaterie at Dempsey; and the Singapore Night Safari’s new amphitheatre and refreshed Creatures of the Night show. The Changi Bay Park Connector and the Rifle Range Nature Park were also opened, strengthening Singapore’s attractiveness as a City in Nature.

Singapore’s tour operators continued to introduce new and innovative tours, including the Seadog Kayak Sailing Tour by Kayak Fishing Fever, Letters From Blakang Mati by Woopa Travel as well as Hawker Fare: Little India Street Food Tour.

Becoming an Urban Wellness Haven and a Top Sustainable Destination

To meet increasing demand for holistic wellness offerings, STB organised the inaugural Wellness Festival Singapore (WFS) in June 2022, which featured over 130 wellness activities and experiences over 10 days. STB also inked a partnership with global wellness platform ClassPass, onboarding more than 90 new wellness businesses across 167 locations.

To make wellness a key component of Singapore’s tourism offerings, STB launched an Expression-of-Interest (EOI) in November to develop a wellness attraction on the southern coast of Singapore.​

STB also made strides to help the tourism sector become more sustainable. A destination sustainability strategy for the tourism sector was developed in 2022 in line with the Singapore Green Plan 2030 and our ambition to become a sustainable urban destination. Industry-specific roadmaps were developed for hotels[8] and the MICE ecosystem[9], while the Tourism Sustainability Programme[10] was launched to support tourism businesses in all stages of their sustainability journey.

2023 Outlook

STB expects the tourism sector to continue its growth momentum this year, on the back of increasing flight connectivity and capacity, and China’s gradual reopening. International visitor arrivals are expected to reach around 12 to 14 million visitors, bringing in approximately $18 to 21 billion in tourism receipts – around two-thirds to three-quarters of the levels in 2019.

In the meantime, STB will continue efforts to increase Singapore’s destination attractiveness. STB will support the development of new and refreshed offerings in 2023, such as Bird Paradise @ Mandai Wildlife Reserve, and new experiences in Orchard Road such as the Trifecta integrated sports facility.

To support tourism recovery, STB will front load $110 million of the $500 million set aside for Singapore’s tourism recovery to ramp up business and leisure events over these two years.

STB will continue to attract more high-quality MICE events, such as the Herbalife APAC Extravaganza 2023 and the 25th World Congress of Dermatology 2023. On the leisure events front, 2023 has already kicked off strongly with Art SG, Southeast Asia’s largest ever art fair as part of the Singapore Art Week, and Sail GP, which made its Asian debut last week. New events like the Olympic Esports Week and Professional Triathletes Organisation Asian Open will also take place in Singapore for the first time.

To increase Singapore’s mindshare, STB will ramp up the SingapoReimagine campaign in all our key markets through creative activations, content and partnerships. This will be augmented by the SingapoReimagine Marketing Programme (SMP)[11] to help local tourism and lifestyle businesses promote Singapore while also raising their marketing capabilities. 

To support the pace of recovery, STB will continue to help the tourism sector ramp up hiring. As of September 2022, the total tourism workforce is around 65,000 – about 78 per cent of 2019 levels. STB will continue to support manpower needs through the Tourism Careers Hub, which has placed more than 500 workers in the tourism sector since its launch in 2022 by providing career coaching, skills upgrading and job matching. STB will also continue to support digital transformation for the industry through Tcube[12], which has already helped more than 1,000 local tourism companies through its various programmes.

Please refer to Annex for International Visitor Arrivals (IVA) and Tourism Receipts (TR) from 2019-2022.

Please download the STB Year-in-Review presentation deck from this link.

[1] These are preliminary estimates for 2022.  The final figure will be available in 2Q 2023.

[2] In line with previous practices, STB excludes Sightseeing, Entertainment & Gaming in the country analysis due to commercial sensitivities.

[3] Figures are updated as at 17 Jan 2023.

[4] Meetings, Incentives, Conventions and Exhibitions (MICE)

[5] Figures for the hotel industry are updated as at 17 Jan 2023.

[6] A homeport refers to the port at which a cruise ship is based, and is where a cruise itinerary begins and ends. Year-round homeports are perennial, while seasonal homeports last only for a few months, typically during the summer. 

[7] A transit sailing indicates that Singapore is a port of call in an itinerary that begins and ends at another port. A turnaround sailing is one that begins at another port of call but ends its itinerary in Singapore.

[8] The  Hotel Sustainability Roadmap  was jointly launched by STB and Singapore Hotel Association (SHA) in March 2022.

[9] The  MICE Sustainability Roadmap  was jointly launched by STB and Singapore Association of Convention & Exhibition Organisers & Suppliers (SACEOS) in December 2022.

[10] The  Tourism Sustainability Programme  was developed to strengthen the tourism sector's foundation in sustainability.

[11] The  SingapoReimagine Marketing Programme  is a S$8 million programme, which was launched in September 2022, to supports local businesses across tourism and lifestyle industries to promote Singapore and recapture international demand.

[12] Tcube, or the Tourism Technology Transformation Cube, is a hybrid innovation space that brings STB’s digital initiatives, resources and thought-leadership content onto a single platform to support our sector’s digital transformation. For more information, visit  https://go.gov.sg/tcube

About the Singapore Tourism Board

The Singapore Tourism Board (STB) is the lead development agency for tourism, one of Singapore’s key economic sectors. Together with industry partners and the community, we shape a dynamic Singapore tourism landscape. We bring the Passion Made Possible brand to life by differentiating Singapore as a vibrant destination that inspires people to share and deepen their passions.

More: www.stb.gov.sg or www.visitsingapore.com | Follow us: facebook.com/STBsingapore  or linkedin.com/company/singapore-tourism- v.sg/tcube

About the Organisation

What industry does your organization fall within, what best describes the key intent of the project that your organisation is seeking funding for, is your organisation a singapore-registered legal entity, is your organisation an association, is the project able to achieve one or more of the following outcome.

• Increase no. of sailings to/from Singapore
• Increase no. of foreign cruise passengers to Singapore through sailings to/from Singapore
• Increase no. of pre/post nights for cruise passengers sailing to/from Singapore
• Increase capability of industry players via cruise-specific industry training programmes
• Strengthen the potential/ attractiveness of cruising in Singapore and/or Southeast Asia

Is the project able to achieve one or more of the following?

• Improve visitor satisfaction (especially foreign visitors)
• Increase footfall
• Increase revenue
• Significant branding and PR value

Is the project able to attract foreign visitors and contribute to foreign visitors' spend?

Who will be the main target audience of your project, is your project innovative and/or a new event in singapore with tourism potential, what best describes your project, does the event have proven track records in singapore or overseas, and/or growth in tourism value such as growing foreign visitorship, and/or enhancement of precinct vibrancy etc, does the project have a clear tourism focus (e.g. tourism-related trainings, tourism companies taking on capability development initiatives or technology companies creating technology products and services for the tourism businesses), what best describes your market feasibility study project.

Based on your selection, the following STB grant/s may be applicable for your project:

Please note that projects that have commenced prior to Singapore Tourism Board's offer may not be eligible for grant support. Examples where projects are deemed as having commenced include:

• Applicant has started work on the project e.g. tender has been called.
• Applicant has made payment(s) to any supplier, vendor or third party.
• Applicant has signed a contractual agreement with any supplier, vendor or third party.

The Straits Times

• International
• Print Edition
• news with benefits
• SPH Rewards
• STClassifieds
• Berita Harian
• Hardwarezone
• Shin Min Daily News
• Tamil Murasu
• The Business Times
• The New Paper
• Lianhe Zaobao
• Advertise with us

Singapore's tourism industry to tap sustainability, wellness and tech trends for growth

SINGAPORE - Instead of waiting for world borders to reopen, Singapore needs to disrupt the status quo. For the tourism industry here, the next big moves lie in sustainable travel solutions, technological innovation and holistic wellness.

This was highlighted by speakers at the opening of the Tourism Industry Conference on Wednesday (April 7).

Minister for Trade and Industry Chan Chun Sing said the tourism sector here already faced disruption, even before the Covid-19 pandemic. For instance, apps were replacing tour guides, maps and travel agents, and virtual or augmented reality allowed people to enjoy immersive experiences without leaving home.

The challenge is how Singapore will prepare for the long-term future, Mr Chan said.

Sustainable tourism presents an option to seize growth opportunities, especially with tourists becoming more conscious about the environment and are looking for more sustainable options.

The Government will pump $68.5 million into the Tourism Development Fund, which businesses can tap if they want to explore new areas including sustainability.

"In terms of the abundance of land and natural landscapes, Singapore might not be able to compete directly with other eco-destinations," Mr Chan acknowledged.

But Singapore's progressive and transparent regulatory environment and strong intellectual property protection will make the Republic an attractive place for companies looking to test-bed sustainable tourism products and experiences.

Another strength is the vibrant public and private ecosystem here that will facilitate effective partnerships for businesses and workers to grow their capabilities, Mr Chan added.

Singapore Tourism Board chief executive Keith Tan said Singapore could find another niche in being a leading urban wellness haven, where wellness and beauty offerings and experiences are easily available in a busy modern city.

"Covid-19 has made wellness a top priority for all of us," he said, adding that a growing middle class, especially in Asia, will pay a premium for offerings that enhance their sense of well-being.

Some industry players are already moving towards that direction. Grand Hyatt Singapore, for example, collaborated with local activewear brand Kydra to launch a staycation package, Recharge Retreat, which offers a one-night stay with other benefits such as a set of activewear, body treatment at a spa, and a meditation session.

Mr Chan said the tourism sector should also leverage technology, such as by using it to create a unique experience for tourists and locals alike.

He said: "In a world where visitors are not constrained by physical boundaries, travel is no longer just about meeting or sightseeing, but the unique suite of experiences that it offers to visitors from pre-arrival to post-departure."

One example is how tour operators have developed innovative experiences such as the Niu Che Shui Murders launched by Tribe Tours. On this gamified hybrid tour, participants solve a series of puzzles around Chinatown.

To support industry players in their digital transformation, STB also launched its innovation platform, Tourism Technology Transformation Cube (Tcube), on Wednesday.

Tcube provides training courses and resources to pick up digital skills such as data analytics, and also provides consultancy and prototyping services for tourism companies that wish to refine their digital strategies. Participants can also get guidance from industry mentors through events and talks.

Mr Chan said the challenge for Singapore, moving forward, is how it can prepare for long-term success and reinvent global travel.

He said: "We are not waiting for a full reopening. Singapore is prepared to disrupt the status quo, transform our products and services, and harness our capabilities to capture the next type of growth ahead."

Join ST's WhatsApp Channel and get the latest news and must-reads.

• Singapore tourism
• Singapore Tourism Board
• Travel and leisure

Read 3 articles and stand to win rewards

Spin the wheel now