In particular, Australia and New Zealand posted a strong performance – with visitor arrivals reaching historical highs and surpassing 2019 figures. Australia was also among the top 3 markets for Tourism Receipts in 2024.
Ms Melissa Ow, Chief Executive, Singapore Tourism Board (STB), said, “In 2024, Singapore’s tourism sector posted a strong performance, an affirmation of the industry’s efforts in refreshing our products and experiences, as well as embarking on new collaborations this past year. Collectively, these efforts elevated Singapore’s destination appeal and strengthened the sector’s capabilities and competitiveness.”
Tourism receipts reached S$22.4 billion between January and September 2024 (an increase of 10% compared to the same period in 2023). All spend categories have shown year-on-year growth, led by Sightseeing, Entertainment & Gaming (SEG) at 25%, followed by 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 TR as well.
Mainland China, Indonesia, and Australia emerged as the top tourism receipts generating markets, contributing S$3.58 billion, S$2.13 billion, and S$1.44 billion respectively (excluding Sightseeing, Entertainment and Gaming) [2]. Notably, Mainland China and Japan showed strong year-on-year growth in tourism receipts.
Top markets for visitor arrivals were Mainland China (3.08 million), Indonesia (2.49 million) and India (1.20 million). Australia came in fifth at 1.17 million, an 8.2% increase over 2023, while New Zealand – at 17th, posted an impressive 13.9% increase over 2023, with 157,500 arrivals. Other markets that exhibited healthy year-on-year growth included Japan, Taiwan, the UK, and the USA. A contributing factor for the strong IVA performance was Singapore’s strong growth in air connectivity, in which Changi Airport had a total international seat capacity of over 41 million in 2024, representing a 15% increase compared to 2023 and 98% recovery to 2019 [3].
Other key factors that contributed 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. Singapore continued to attract quality MICE events, while the cruise industry saw several highlights including notable maiden calls and ships homeporting.
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 S$276 (1.4% increase compared to 2023 ARR) and S$226 (3.0% increase compared to 2023 RevPAR) respectively. Average Occupancy Rate (AOR) was 81.8% in 2024, a 1.3% point increase compared to 80.5% in 2023. There was an addition of 1,421 new hotel keys, including notable openings such as The Standard Singapore, Into the Woods and Mercure ICON Singapore City Centre.
Please refer to Annex A for tourism performance charts.
2024 Tourism Highlights: Sustaining Growth Through Ongoing Efforts to Enhance Destination Appeal
World-Class Entertainment and Events
Singapore’s robust year-round calendar of events played a pivotal role in elevating Singapore’s international mindshare and reinforcing our position as an attractive leisure and business destination.
World-class concerts by Coldplay, Ed Sheeran and Taylor Swift generated substantial economic benefits and enhanced Singapore’s global brand, with spillover effects to adjacent tourism industries such as retail, dining and hotels. Other key events included the Singapore and Southeast Asia debut of Disney Garden of Wonder at Gardens by the Bay, pop culture events such as Anime Festival Asia and Singapore Comic Con, and lifestyle and sports events including BLAST Premier World Final 2024, CAPCOM Pro Tour 2024 Super Premier Singapore and the reimagined Singapore Food Festival.
Singapore also maintains a track record of hosting high-quality business events, with several significant business events taking place in Singapore for the first time in 2024, such as SuperAI 2024, World Economic Forum Young Global Leaders Summit 2024 and GSTC2024 Global Sustainable Tourism Conference. Other large-scale trade shows such as the Singapore Airshow 2024 and Food & Hotel Asia 2024 also added to the diverse calendar of business events. Singapore achieved its highest-ever ranking on the International Congress and Convention Association (ICCA) Worldwide City Rankings 2023, securing second position, an advancement of more than 10 places from its 2022 ranking.
New Attractions and Enhanced Experiences
2024 saw the introduction of several new and enhanced attractions in Singapore. Highlights included the highly anticipated Asia premiere of the Harry Potter: Visions of Magic exhibition at Resorts World Sentosa; the first official Studio Ghibli exhibition in Singapore The World of Studio Ghibli at Marina Bay Sands’ ArtScience Museum; and the immersive multi-sensory experience Sentosa Sensoryscape. Singapore’s Night Safari also unveiled its first fully sheltered walking trail, the Pangolin Trail, along with a new bull elephant habitat and a mixed-species exhibit called Giants of Asia.
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 both visitors and locals. Singapore also secured 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.
Futureproofing the Tourism Sector
Advancing Sustainable Tourism
The Global Sustainable Tourism Council (GSTC) MICE Criteria was developed in collaboration with the Singapore Association of Convention & Exhibition Organisers & Suppliers (SACEOS), to serve as the global sustainability standards for MICE businesses and provide a common understanding of sustainable practices in the MICE industry worldwide. The standards for MICE Event Organisers and Venues within Singapore’s MICE Sustainability Certification Framework became GSTC-recognised in November 2024, a first in the world, which MICE stakeholders developed with STB’s support. Complementing these efforts, the MICE Venue Sustainability Playbook was launched to serve as a comprehensive guide to enhancing green practices in the MICE industry. The GSTC Attraction Criteria was also developed and is the world’s first global standard specifically designed for attractions.
As a testament to these initiatives, Singapore ranked top in Asia Pacific and seventh globally in the 2024 Global Destination Sustainability Index, rising ten places from the preceding year.
Technology transformation to enhance visitor experience and business priorities
Singapore remains a test bed for new technology and innovation in tourism. In 2024, Google and STB launched a pilot project to introduce more than 30 Augmented Reality (AR) experiences on Google Maps, featuring a variety of attractions, precincts and F&B establishments. This provides fresh ways of engaging with the app’s more than two billion monthly active users.
2025 Outlook
STB expects 2025 international visitor arrivals to reach between 17.0 to 18.5 million, bringing in approximately S$29.0 to S$30.5 billion in tourism receipts. While acknowledging potential headwinds stemming from geopolitical tensions and macroeconomic challenges, STB remains focused on driving quality tourism growth to defend and extend Singapore’s global position as we continue to develop tourism in the years ahead.
Ms Ow said, “As we look back at 2024, as well as our achievements over the last 60 years, tourism has contributed to the economy, reinforcing our international reputation and providing more lifestyle options for visitors and residents. Together with our industry partners, STB is committed to sustain our tourism growth, by increasing Singapore’s mind share and market share, maintaining a diversified market portfolio and strengthening destination vibrancy. Our Tourism 2040 [4] roadmap will guide our efforts to drive the next phase of quality tourism growth for Singapore. This will ensure Singapore continues to thrive as a world-class destination that meets the needs of the evolving global traveller.”
In 2025, Singapore’s tourism landscape will continue to welcome new developments, including the introduction of new attractions and experiences, and a robust line-up of leisure and MICE events.
