Singapore’s international visitor arrivals (IVA) reached 6.3 million in 2022 (~33 per cent of 2019 IVA), exceeding STB’s forecast of between 4 and 6 million visitors. Tourism receipts (TR) are estimated to reach $13.8 to $14.3  billion¹(~50 per cent to 52 per cent of 2019 TR). Barring unexpected circumstances, tourism activity is now expected to recover to pre-pandemic levels by 2024.

Keith Tan, Chief Executive, Singapore Tourism Board (STB), said: “Our 2022 tourism  performance underscores Singapore’s appeal as a leading business and leisure  destination for post-pandemic travellers. To sustain our growth in 2023 and beyond, we will expand our partnerships, build up a rich year-round calendar of events, ramp  up investment in new and refreshed products and experiences, and continue to support industry efforts to build the capabilities they need to meet consumer  demands.”

2022 Tourism Performance
Visitor arrivals were driven by strong demand from Singapore’s key source markets,  led by Indonesia (1.1 million), India (686,000) and Malaysia (591,000).  TR reached $8.96 billion between January to September 2022. The top TR generating  markets were Indonesia, India and Australia, which contributed $1.1 billion, $704  million, and $633 million respectively in TR (excluding Sightseeing, Entertainment and  Gaming)².

Visitors are also spending more time in Singapore compared to before the pandemic.  For the last three quarters of the year (April-December 2022) when Singapore no  longer required quarantine for fully-vaccinated travellers, the average length of stay  was approximately 4.81 days³. This is a significant increase compared to 3.36 days  for the same period in 2019.

MICE and Leisure Events
The resumption of MICE⁴ events picked up pace in 2022, following the easing of  border restrictions and safe management measures. Marquee international events returned to Singapore, including Food and Hotel Asia – Food & Beverage and Food and Hotel Asia – HoReCa, which took place as two  dedicated trade shows for the first time, ITB Asia, and Singapore Fintech Festival,  which attracted a record turnout from over 115 countries. STB also secured new  events like FIND: Design Fair Asia as well as Global Health Security Conference 2022  and the 14th World Stroke Congress, which reinforced Singapore’s leadership in key  industry clusters.

Singapore’s calendar of leisure and sporting events also recovered strongly. The  Formula 1 Singapore Airlines Singapore Grand Prix 2022 – held after a two-year hiatus  – drew a record attendance of 302,000; the Tour de France Prudential Singapore  Criterium also made its Southeast Asian debut. Regular crowd-pleasers such as the  Singapore Food Festival, Christmas Wonderland, Christmas on A Great Street at  Orchard Road, the Marina Bay Singapore Countdown and ZoukOut Singapore were all  organised successfully and drew visitors from around the world.

Hotels Industry Performance
Singapore’s hotel industry also posted an encouraging year due to stronger demand  for leisure and business travel. From April to December 2022⁵, the Average Occupancy  Rate (AOR) was 79.1 per cent, compared to 87.3 per cent recorded in the same period  in 2019. Average room rates during this period increased by 17 per cent to $260, while  Revenue per Available Room (RevPAR) increased by 6.2 per cent to $206.

Singapore welcomed a total of 465 new keys in 2022 with the opening of new hotels  like the Citadines Connect City and Garden Pod @ Gardens By The Bay Centre. New brands like Hotel Telegraph (formerly known as SO Singapore), Pullman Singapore  Orchard (formerly known as Grand Park Orchard), voco Orchard Singapore (formerly  known as Hilton Singapore at 581 Orchard Road) and Vibe Hotel Singapore Orchard (formerly known as Elizabeth Hotel) were also introduced. These investments  underscored the private sector’s confidence in Singapore’s tourism prospects.

Cruise Industry Performance
Singapore’s position as a regional cruise hub strengthened in 2022 with more than  230 ship calls. Passenger throughput was 1.2 million, which is about two-thirds of pre pandemic levels in 2019. The return of cruising was supported by the year-round  deployment of Resorts World Cruises’ Genting Dream and Royal Caribbean  International’s Quantum/Spectrum of the Seas. Following the resumption of sailings  with ports of call in July, two new cruise lines made Singapore their seasonal  homeport⁶:

2023 Outlook
STB expects the tourism sector to continue its growth momentum this year, on the  back of increasing flight connectivity and capacity, and China’s gradual reopening. International visitor arrivals are expected to reach around 12 to 14 million visitors,  bringing in approximately $18 to 21 billion in tourism receipts – around two-thirds to  three-quarters of the levels in 2019.

In the meantime, STB will continue efforts to increase Singapore’s destination  attractiveness. STB will support the development of new and refreshed offerings in  2023, such as Bird Paradise @ Mandai Wildlife Reserve, and new experiences in  Orchard Road such as the Trifecta integrated sports facility.

To support tourism recovery, STB will front load $110 million of the $500 million set  aside for Singapore’s tourism recovery to ramp up business and leisure events over  these two years.

STB will continue to attract more high-quality MICE events, such as the Herbalife APAC  Extravaganza 2023 and the 25th World Congress of Dermatology 2023. On the leisure  events front, 2023 has already kicked off strongly with Art SG, Southeast Asia’s largest  ever art fair as part of the Singapore Art Week, and Sail GP, which made its Asian debut  last week. New events like the Olympic Esports Week and Professional Triathletes  Organisation Asian Open will also take place in Singapore for the first time.