SINGAPORE, 2 February 2024: Singapore’s tourism sector recovered strongly and demonstrated resilience with a solid performance in 2023, the Singapore Tourist Board reported in its annual review.
International visitor arrivals (IVA) reached 13.6 million in 2023 (~71% of 2019 IVA), meeting STB’s forecast of between 12 and 14 million visitors. Tourism receipts (TR) are estimated to reach SGD24.5 to SGD26.0 billion (~88-94% of 2019 TR), surpassing STB’s forecast of SGD18 to SGD21 billion set out in 2023.
Singapore Tourism Board chief executive Melissa Ow said: “The robust performance in 2023 signals a promising recovery for tourism, in line with increasing flight capacity and growth in 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.”
2023 Tourism Performance
Visitor arrivals were driven by strong demand from a mix of Singapore’s key markets, led by Indonesia (2.3 million), China (1.4 million) and Malaysia (1.1 million). Other key markets that posted buoyant recovery included Australia, South Korea and the US.
Tourism receipts
Tourism receipts (TR) reached SGD20.1 billion between January and September 2023. Full-year tourism receipts are expected to register between SGD24.5 and SGD26 billion. From January to September 2023, tourism receipts across all spending categories exceeded or recovered close to pre-pandemic levels compared with the same period in 2019.
For the first nine months of 2023, the top TR-generating markets were China, Indonesia and Australia. They contributed SGD2.3 billion, SGD2.2 billion, and SGD1.5 billion (excluding sightseeing, entertainment and gaming revenue).
Length of stay
Visitors also spent more time in Singapore compared to before the pandemic. The average length of stay in 2023 was approximately 3.8 days compared to 3.4 days for the same period in 2019.
Hotel Industry Performance
Singapore’s hotel industry performance in 2023 was encouraging, driven by stronger demand for leisure and business travel. In 2023, the Average Room Rate (ARR) and Revenue per Available Room (RevPAR) surpassed 2019 levels, reaching SGD282 (~128% of 2019 ARR) and SGD226 (~118% of 2019 RevPAR), respectively. Average
Occupancy Rate (AOR) was 80.1% in 2023, compared to 86.9% in the same period in 2019.
An addition of 3,210 new hotel rooms entered the hotel market with the unveiling of new establishments such as Pan Pacific Orchard, Mondrian Singapore Duxton, Artyzen Singapore, and The Singapore EDITION.
Cruise Industry Performance
Singapore’s position as a regional cruise hub strengthened in 2023 with a record 2 million passenger throughput received from more than 340 ship calls since the opening of the Marina Bay Cruise Centre Singapore.
In 2023, Royal Caribbean International’s Spectrum of the Seas and Resorts World Cruises’ Genting Dream continued its year-round homeport at Marina Bay Cruise Centre Singapore. TUI Cruises, Marella Cruises and Silversea Cruises continued their seasonal homeport while Virgin Voyages, Resilient Lady and Celebrity Cruises’ Celebrity Edge made several maiden port calls. The healthy number of ship calls demonstrates the industry’s commitment to realise the strong potential of cruising in Singapore and the region.
In addition, STB and Disney Cruise Line signed a MOU to collaborate on the exclusive five-year year-round homeporting of Disney Adventure in Singapore from 2025.
