SINGAPORE, 5 February 2025: Singapore’s tourism sector posted a strong performance in 2024, with tourism receipts likely to reach the upper bound of STB’s 2024 forecast, setting a new record in tourism spend.
International Visitor Arrivals (IVA) increased by 21% (compared to 2023) to 16.5 million, showing robust growth in visitor arrivals.
Singapore Tourism Board (STB) Chief Executive Melissa Ow said: “In 2024, Singapore’s tourism sector posted a strong performance, affirming the industry’s efforts in refreshing our products and experiences and embarking on new collaborations this past year. Collectively, these efforts elevated Singapore’s destination appeal and strengthened the sector’s capabilities and competitiveness.”
2024 Tourism Performance
Tourism receipts reached SGD22.4 billion between January and September 2024 (an increase of 10% compared to the same period in 2023).
All spending categories have shown year-on-year growth, with Sightseeing, Entertainment & Gaming (SEG) at 25% and Accommodation at 17%. Meanwhile, Food & Beverage (F&B) and Shopping saw a 6% and 5% increase, respectively, with other categories, such as airfares and business spending, contributing to tourism receipts.
Mainland China, Indonesia, and Australia emerged as the top tourism receipts-generating markets, contributing SGD3.58 billion, SGD2.13 billion, and SGD1.44 billion, respectively (excluding Sightseeing, Entertainment, and Gaming).
Notably, Mainland China and Japan showed strong year-on-year growth in tourism receipts. The top markets for visitor arrivals were Mainland China (3.08 million), Indonesia (2.49 million) and India (1.20 million).
Contributing factors
Contributing factors included the growth of Japan, Taiwan, the UK, and the USA, representing a good mix of short, 30-day mutual visa exemptions with Mainland China and Singapore’s strong growth in air connectivity.
In 2024, Changi Airport had a total international seat capacity of over 41 million, representing a 15% increase compared to 2023 and a 98% recovery compared with the 2019 benchmark. Other key factors to the overall growth in visitor arrivals include Singapore’s robust year-round calendar of lifestyle events and concerts, which has enhanced the city-state’s appeal as a premier tourist destination. Family-friendly attractions at precincts such as Gardens by the Bay, Sentosa, and Mandai Wildlife Reserve, including the Bird Paradise, along with key leisure events like the Formula 1 Singapore Airlines Singapore Grand Prix 2024 and Singapore Art Week, were also instrumental in boosting visitor arrivals and spending across the tourism sector and related industries.
Cruise ships homeport
Singapore’s cruise industry saw several highlights, including notable maiden calls and ships homeporting. The cruise industry welcomed several maiden calls, including Royal Caribbean International’s Anthem of the Seas, Silversea Cruises’ Silver Nova and Silver Dawn, and Viking Cruises’ Viking Venus, further diversifying Singapore’s tourism offerings for visitors and locals. Singapore also secured the renewed commitment of several cruise lines to homeport in Singapore for the longer term, including Resorts World Cruises, Royal Caribbean International and Silversea Cruises. In 2024, Singapore recorded 1.8 million passenger throughput received from 340 ship calls.
Hotel performance
In addition, Singapore’s hotel industry demonstrated positive growth in 2024, with Average Room Rate (ARR) and Revenue per Available Room (RevPAR) increasing year-on-year, reaching SGD276 (1.4% increase compared to 2023 ARR) and SGD226 (3.0% increase compared to 2023 RevPAR) respectively. The average occupancy rate (AOR) was 81.8% in 2024, a 1.3% point increase compared to 80.5% in 2023.
