January 23, 2025: Singapore saw 15.1 Million tourist during the period January till November 2024, which was up by 122% over the same period in 2023. The total revenue forecast from tourism receipts is estimated at S$ 29 Billion, for the year 2024, an increase of 120% over 2023. This information was shared by Kwan Su Min, the Director of Communications at the Singapore Tourism Board (STB), while speaking at the ASEAN Tourism Forum 2025 NTO Media Briefing on January 16, 2025 in Johor Bahru, Malaysia.
TRAVEX, a part of the ASEAN Tourism Forum 2025 was held from 15-18 January at Johor Bahru in Malaysia. Over 200 travel stalls, 1000 delgates and near 100 media personnel were present at the 4 day event. Singapore was represented by the Singapore Tourism Board, with a media briefing that lasted for an hour at the Persada Johor Convention Centre.
Singapore Tourism Performance
Speaking on the tourism sectors performance at the briefing, Kwan said there was strong demand from key source markets, specially from Mainland China, Indonesia and India. Explaining the stats, Kwan informed that Singapore welcomed nearly 2.89 million tourists from Mainland China, followed by 2.22 million from Indonesia and 1.09 million from India, followed closely by 1.08 million from Malaysia during the first eleven months of 2024. Australia, Philippines, USA, South Korea, UK and Japan make up for the top ten markets for tourism in Singapore. While Chinese and Indonesian tourists spent S$ 2.1 Billion and S$ 1.4 Billion respectively, Australians spent S$ 924 million compared to S$ 777 million by Indians. The top five spenders accounted for approximately S$ 6 Billion in tourism revenue for Singapore between January and June 2024.
Enhanced Attractions
In order to add more appeal for tourists coming to Singapore, the Tourism development board is looking at promoting new developments and activities in the country over the next three years.
New Bahru is a new lifestyle development that opened in June 2024 and features over 40 of Singapore's best local creative talents and businesses.
Porsche Experience Centre, set to open in 2027, will be located next to Changi Exhibition Centre. It will be the world's first regional Porsche Experience Centre conceptualised from the onset for car enthusiasts. It will also include many family-friendly activities such as exhibits from the Porsche Museum and car racing simulators.
Sentosa Sensoryscape is a double-tier, 24-hour passageway linking Imbiah Station with Merlion Station. Inspired by nature with various futuristic “biophilic” structures, Sensoryscape is a lovely, relaxing place to be at any time of the day, although the nightly light and AR shows are what you do not want to miss. At 7.50 pm each evening, different light projections transform the zones into magical arenas of light.
The other experiences to be opened up in 2025 include Disney Adventure, Illumination's Minion Land in Universal Studios, Singapore Oceanarium and Rainforest Wild Asia.
New Accommodation Options
For travellers looking at up market and high end premium accommodation options, the following new properties promise to add class:
The Standard Singapore marked its grand opening in November 2024. An urban oasis, it is nestled steps away from the 150-year old UNESCO Singapore Botanic Gardens and the vibrant Orchard Road shopping district.
Raffles Singapore Sentosa Resort and Spa will be opening soon. It is the first villa-only hotel in Singapore, each with its own private swimming pool.
Marina Bay Sands expansion will include a luxury hotel tower with a public rooftop attraction, a 15,000-seat entertainment area with additional premium MICE spaces, and new dining and nightlife offerings. This will be ready after 2030.
Resorts World Sentosa will include the addition of two hotels, a waterfront promenade, a retail, entertainment and dining podium, and two new luxury hotels which is set to open in 2030. From this year, visitors can look forward to the new Minion Land and Super Nintendo World at Universal Singapore and the new Singapore Oceanearium, 3 times larger than the existing S.E.A. Aquarium.
Friendliest City
The annual Readers' Choice award by Conde Nast Traveller has crowned Singapore as the #1 Friendliest City in the world, with Gardens by the Bay securing #8 in the top 10 best attractions globally. Leisure events such as Singapore Art Week; Concerts by Taylor Swift, Coldplay, Ed Sheeran; Harry Potter: The Forbidden Forest; HSBC Women’s World Championship; Singapore Food Festival; Singapore Food Festival; Singapore Festival of Football; Wellness Festival Singapore; Grand Prix Season Singapore; Tour de France Prudential Singapore Criterium; Standard Chartered Singapore Marathon; Harry Potter: Visions of Magic; Christmas on a Great Street and Marina Bay Singapore Countdown were some of the signature events that led visitors to rank Singapore on top.
MICE City - #2 on ICCA Rankings
Singapore has been ranked as the top meeting destination in Asia Pacific region, for the sixth time since 2016. Various MICE events viz. Singapore Airshow, World Congress of Anaesthesiologists, Porsche Global Dealer Launch Event, Entrepreneur’s Organisation Global Leadership Conference, Rotary International Convention, Asia Photonics Expo, Milipol Asia-Pacific TechX Summit, CeMAT Southeast Asia, etc held over the year have facilitated top MICE ranking for Singapore in the region. Singapore is also home to the top 2 MICE Hotels in Asia Pacific, namely JW Marriot Hotel Singapore South Beach and Shangri-La Singapore.
Made in Singapore
STB launched the Made in Singapore global campaign in September 2023 to inspire travellers to choose Singapore as their next travel destination. In 2024, STB unveiled two Global Positioning campaigns underpinned by the Made in Singapore campaign, to showcase Singapore’s distinctive and diverse offerings.
Profiling through Branded Campaigns
STB Korea partnered with leading K-Entertainment companies, including Studio Dragon, JTBC, HYBECorporation, and YG Entertainment, to produce K-content set against the backdrop of Singapore. The projects spread across a wide spectrum from variety shows, travel vlogs to social media content. JTBC's 'My Sibling Romance' highlighted the unique nightlife and dating spots while partnerships with K-pop idols like Rain, BABYMONSTER, and ENHYPEN created engaging content at iconic locations, highlighting Singapore’s vibrant landmarks and culinary delights.
OneRepublic’s latest album ‘Artificial Paradise’, released July 2024, features a track titled ‘Singapore’. Along with OneRepublic and Universal Music Singapore, STB collaborated on a video that spotlights the band’s inspiration behind the track and their affinity with Singapore.
Strategic Partnerships
iQiyi and Mango TV
STB forged multi-year partnerships with leading online TV platforms, iQiyi and Mango TV to further profile Singapore’s offerings.
Pakuwon Group x Capitaland
STB partnered with Pakuwon Group (one of the largest diversified real estate developers in Indonesia) and CapitaLand Singapore to launch a six-month marketing campaign from May to November 2024. This is expected to boost tourism spending in Singapore by offering exclusive retail and accommodation promotions to Indonesian travellers, marking STB’s first initiative with the Indonesian real estate developer.
"Love, Singapore" Aircraft Livery
AirAsia, in collaboration with STB, Gardens by the Bay and Mandai Wildlife Group unveiled the “Love, Singapore” aircraft livery in August 2024, which aims to inspire regional travellers to rediscover the diverse and vibrant experiences that Singapore has to offer. This launch is part of a joint campaign to promote inbound travel to Singapore from visitors in Malaysia, Thailand and Indonesia riding on the year-end travel peak.
PhonePe
In India, STB forged a two-year partnership with PhonePe, India’s largest payments platforms. Indian visitors to Singapore can now use the PhonePe app, to make payments across more than 8,000 merchants in Singapore.
Trip.com
STB renewed their partnership with Trip.com Group for another three years. Leveraging its global network, STB and Trip.com will embark on a series of marketing campaigns in eight markets.
Seizing New Opportunity with Industry
AR Partnership with Google Maps
STB and Google launched location-based AR experiences throughout Singapore in collaboration with Google Maps, one of only two cities globally that Google selected for this pilot programme.
Sustainability
Published by the Global Sustainable Tourism Council (GSTC), STB contributed to the GSTC MICE Criteria and the GSTC Attraction Criteria. STB launched the MICE Venue Sustainability Playbook, a comprehensive guide to enhancing green practices in the MICE industry. At the GSTC Global Sustainable Tourism Conference, STB piloted a carbon-offset incentive programme where delegates offsetting their travel emissions were rewarded with pre-loaded value cards for public transportation in Singapore.
Tourism 2040
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