SINGAPORE - The strong tourism recovery in 2023 is expected to continue, with both international visitor arrivals and tourism receipts to climb further in 2024, the Singapore Tourism Board (STB) said on Feb 1.

Visitor arrivals are forecast to hit 15 million to 16 million, bringing in approximately $26 billion to $27.5 billion in tourism receipts in 2024. This builds on 2023’s numbers, when the Republic had 13.6 million visitors and tourism receipts were estimated to be between $24.5 billion and $26 billion.

That means tourist spending will almost hit the pre-pandemic high of $27.7 billion in 2019, but expected visitor numbers will still be shy of the 19.1 million arrivals recorded that year, before Covid-19 brought air travel to a standstill.

STB noted that visitor arrivals for 2023 came within the forecast set out at the start of the year for 12 million to 14 million arrivals, but that tourism receipts surpassed the expected $18 billion to $21 billion.

Visitor arrivals in 2023 were buoyed by Indonesia, China and Malaysia, which were the top three markets with 2.3 million, 1.4 million and 1.1 million visitors, respectively. Other key markets that posted buoyant recovery included Australia, South Korea and the United States.

China topped the chart in tourist spending with $2.3 billion, followed by Indonesia ($2.2 billion) and Australia ($1.5 billion). Indonesia had topped the list in 2022, contributing $1.1 billion then.

Visitors also stayed longer than before the pandemic. The average length of stay in 2023 was approximately 3.8 days, up from 3.4 days in 2019.

Industry observer James Walton of Deloitte Singapore noted that the post-Covid-19 travel rebound globally was slower than expected due to a “perfect storm of factors”, such as higher inflation, and conflicts in Ukraine and the Middle East fuelling a global economic slowdown; as well as the increased cost of living and flight prices remaining high.

“When the price of their flights forms the main bulk of their travel cost – more so than their hotel or everyday spending – people tend to travel for longer periods of time to maximise the value of their spending.”

In a media release, STB said it expects continued recovery of the tourism sector, driven by improved global flight connectivity and capacity, and factors such as the upcoming mutual 30-day visa-free travel between China and Singapore.

The arrangement, which is expected to boost visitor numbers from China, kicks off on Feb 9 – in time for the Chinese New Year holidays.

More than 3.5 million Chinese tourists visited Singapore in 2019, but post-pandemic arrivals have not rebounded to such levels, with the Republic receiving just 37 per cent of this number from January to November 2023.

STB said it expects international flight capacity to continue to grow in 2024 to or close to pre-pandemic levels for the majority of Singapore’s key markets.

Changi Airport’s passenger traffic has rebounded to 86 per cent of pre-Covid-19 levels, with some 58.9 million passengers having come through in 2023. The airport’s top five markets for 2023 by passenger traffic were Indonesia, Malaysia, Australia, Thailand and India.

STB chief executive Melissa Ow said 2023’s robust performance signals a promising recovery for Singapore tourism, in line with growing international travel demand.

“Our strategy to attract a healthy and diverse visitor portfolio, comprising long- and short-haul markets, has significantly contributed to our overall visitor arrivals, longer length of stay and growth in tourism receipts,” she said.

“Singapore’s thriving pipeline of business and leisure offerings demonstrates our continued appeal as an attractive and trusted tourism destination, and reflects the unwavering confidence our partners have in Singapore.” 

Attractions that started operating in 2023 included the world’s first surf-snow-skate action sports facility called Trifecta, which opened in October in the heart of Orchard Road, as well as Bird Paradise, which opened in May.

Hotels had a particularly strong showing, with the industry adding 3,210 rooms in 2023 across new openings such as Pan Pacific Orchard, Mondrian Singapore Duxton, Artyzen Singapore and The Singapore Edition. New hotels joining the fold in 2024 include Raffles Sentosa Resort & Spa Singapore and The Standard Singapore.

The average room rate and revenue per available room for 2023 also surpassed 2019’s figures. However, the average occupancy rate was 80.1 per cent in 2023, still shy of 2019’s 86.9 per cent.

Meetings, incentives, conventions and exhibitions, as well as leisure events, continued to be a driver of growth in 2023, as the Republic secured several significant business events that took place here for the first time.

These included eyewear and optics conference Silmo Singapore; the first Asian edition of bar, beverage and cocktail industry trade fair Bar Convent Singapore; and the 25th World Congress of Dermatology.

The 2024 pipeline of events includes the full-scale return of the Singapore Airshow in February, as well as major conferences such as the World Congress of Anaesthesiologists in March, and the World Architecture Festival in November.