SINGAPORE, 24 April 2025: Singapore-based travellers are more mindful of tourism’s impact on communities — both at home and abroad says Booking.com’s 10th edition of its annual research exploring consumer attitudes and intentions.
The 2025 research reveals that close to one in two (46%) Singapore-based travellers are now conscious of travel’s impact on communities and the environment.
Half of Singapore travellers (49%) feel that tourism has an overall positive impact on where they live. However, concerns remain around overcrowding, a rising cost of living, traffic, and noise pollution.
That said, only one in five (22%) Singapore-based travellers support capping visitor numbers, instead emphasising a need for community investment through infrastructure upgrades.
Singapore-based travellers are also increasingly committed to supporting the economies of their destinations: 68% want their spending to go back to local communities, and 67% strive to leave places better than when they arrived.
Insights are gleaned from 32,000 travellers in 34 countries and territories amid growing discussion of the impact of tourism on destinations.
Booking.com’s new research takes a community-centric lens this year, asking respondents how they travel and how they experience inbound visitors where they live. This approach sheds light on the benefits and challenges of tourism from their perspective as both travellers and locals.
In Singapore, the report reveals that while 44% of travellers feel that tourism has an overall positive impact on the place they live in, adjustments are needed so that destinations can grow at a healthy pace and continue to be enjoyed by all.
Understanding residents
Taking on a resident’s perspective, one in five (20%) Singapore-based travellers feel that there is slightly too much tourism where they live while 10% believe the current level of tourism is excessive. Travellers highlighted key challenges tourism brings to their local areas, including:
- Overcrowding (38%);
- Rising cost of living (34%);
- Traffic congestion (30%);
- Noise pollution (30%).
Despite these concerns, only a minor proportion (22%) believe that capping the number of tourists in their home destination is the answer.
Instead, they emphasise the need for investment in their communities, with better waste management (32%) and improved transportation (29%) identified as the top types of support they’d like to see.
More than half of travellers share a positive sentiment about visitor behaviour where they live, saying that the tourists they see at home often or always respect local customs and traditions (52%) and support local businesses (54%).
While this still highlights room for improvement, it correlates with their intentions for travel, with over two-thirds (68%) wanting the money they spend to return to the local community, and more than three-quarters (78%) seeking authentic experiences representative of local culture.
Mindful habits becoming mainstream
In 2025, travelling more sustainably remains important for three in four Singapore-based travellers (77%). 91% say they want to make more sustainable travel choices and have taken steps in that direction.
In addition to increased intent, over the 10 years that Booking.com has been gathering insights, there have been shifts in awareness levels, preferences, and priorities regarding what travellers perceive as having a more positive impact on local destinations, communities, and ecosystems.
During this time, many habits related to waste reduction and energy consumption have become increasingly mainstream and remain the top choices when travellers think of influencing the impact of their trips.
In the past 12 months, top sustainable behaviours displayed among Singapore-based travellers include:
- Owning a reusable water bottle (43%);
- Travelling outside of peak season (38%);
- Learning about local culture at destinations — traditions, language, history (37%).
This year’s research also shows that behaviours relating to community and economic impact now sit alongside these environmental choices, with travellers consciously considering ways they can minimise the impact of the destinations they visit, whether that’s seeking advice on travel at other times of the year (32%) or visiting alternative destinations to avoid overcrowding (30%).
“To ensure that destinations can continue to be enjoyed by both locals and visitors alike, tourism, infrastructure, and innovation need to keep pace with travellers’ good intent, says Booking.com Director of Sustainability Danielle D’Silva. “As a leader in the travel industry, we want to make it easier for travellers and partners to feel confident that their choices are helping contribute positively to their destinations. That includes surfacing hotels and accommodations with reputable third-party sustainability certifications or providing training and guidance to our accommodation partners, as well as how to best engage with local communities or reduce their usage of natural resources.”
To read and download Booking.com’s full 2025 research visit
