The Singapore Tourism Board (STB) has announced its forecast for international visitor arrivals (IVA), following the city’s reopening of the borders under the Vaccinated Travel Framework launched on April 2022. With global travel picking up pace, Singapore expects to receive between 4 and 6 million visitors in 2022.
In the first half of 2022, Singapore clocked 1.5 million visitor arrivals, nearly 12 times more compared to the same period in 2021 (119,000). Tourism receipts (TR) reached an estimated S$1.3 billion in the first quarter of the year. While IVA and TR remain a fraction of Singapore’s pre-pandemic numbers, STB remains of the view that tourism flows will recover to pre-COVID levels by the mid-2020s.
Keith Tan, Chief Executive, Singapore Tourism Board said, “The encouraging growth in visitor arrivals and tourism receipts signals strong pent-up demand, and underscore Singapore’s continued appeal as a vibrant and attractive destination for leisure and business travelers. While the pandemic is certainly not over yet, we are confident that Singapore’s very rich calendar of events, as well as new and refreshed tourism offerings, will continue to attract visitors for the rest of 2022 and beyond.”
International Visitor Arrivals (IVA) : Indonesia (282,000), India (219,000), Malaysia (139,000), Australia (125,000) and Philippines (81,000) were Singapore’s top five international visitor-generating markets, accounting for 56 per cent of total IVA from January to June 2022. Indonesia (+1996 per cent), India (+1344 per cent) and Malaysia (+2000 per cent), registered the largest absolute year-on-year growth.
Notably, the average length of stay for visitors more than doubled in the first half of 2022 – approximately 7.1 days compared to 3.4 days in 2019.
TR in the first quarter of 2022 reached $1.3 billion, a 213 per cent year-on-year increase over the same period last year. Excluding expenditure on Sightseeing Entertainment & Gaming (SEG), Indonesia, India and China were the top three TR-generating markets in Q1 2022, contributing 32 per cent of TR (excluding SEG).
Growth was recorded across all major components, with Shopping (373 per cent) and Accommodation (344 per cent) recording the highest year-on-year growth.
Looking Ahead
Tourism flows will face some headwinds for the rest of the year because of the volatile global political and economic environment, as well as the evolving health situation.
STB will continue to monitor the situation closely and calibrate its forecast and plans accordingly. We remain cautiously optimistic and anticipate a strong performance from key source markets this year, given a strong pipeline of events such as the Formula 1 Singapore Airlines Singapore Grand Prix 2022 and the Bloomberg New Economy Forum. New and rejuvenated offerings like Hell’s Museum at Haw Par Villa, the Museum of Ice Cream, SkyHelix Sentosa, and the “Avatar: The Experience” at Gardens by the Bay later this year, are also set to attract more visitors.
STB will continue to develop the tourism sector with new offerings and refreshed concepts to strengthen Singapore’s appeal as an attractive destination. This includes growing our capabilities in the emerging areas of wellness and sustainability.
For example, STB held the inaugural Wellness Festival Singapore in June, with a 10-day line-up of over 100 activities and experiences to promote holistic well-being. In October, Singapore will be the first Southeast Asian country to host the Tour de France Singapore Criterium, a premier sporting event that aligns with Singapore’s sustainability goals, as well as our ambition to be an urban wellness haven. Sail Grand Prix (SailGP), the first climate positive sports and entertainment property, will also make its Asian debut in Singapore in 2023.
