Visa, shared that Singapore residents continue to prioritise travel, with outbound spending surging in December last year, as well as the recent Lunar New Year holiday week. In fact, travel spend by Singapore consumers for December and January hit record levels. Supported by a strong Singapore dollar, cross-border spending remains robust across key travel corridors, with notable shifts in consumer travel and spending patterns.
Shopping and Dining Remain Top Spend Categories during December Year-End Travel
Visa’s data highlights that shopping and dining remain top priorities for Singapore travellers, accounting for 61 per cent of their travel spend, while lodging and airline bookings saw strong year-on-year growth as consumers plan ahead for travel. Retail spend recorded a 14 per cent year-on-year increase, while spending on restaurants and fast food surged by 27 and 30 per cent, respectively. These figures underscore the enduring appeal of overseas shopping and dining experiences for Singapore travellers.
Malaysia, Japan, and Thailand have emerged as the leading travel corridors for cross-border outbound spending, closely followed by South Korea and Australia during the year-end holidays last year. The implementation of visa-free travel to China has significantly boosted travel demand, resulting in an 86 per cent year-on-year increase in travel spend in China. This reflects a broader trend of increased regional travel, facilitated by relaxed entry requirements and strong economic ties.
Malaysia has always been the top travel destination for Singapore residents all-year round. Based on Visa’s International Travel platform, the top cities that Singaporeans visited include Kuala Lumpur, Johor Bahru, Cameron Highlands, Bangkok, Bali and Kota Tinggi (Johor). Last year, Singapore travellers’ card spending in Japan also grew 138 per cent compared to pre-pandemic levels.
Visa’s data also highlighted the evolving destination preferences for Singapore residents. Compared to December 2023, Japan and Thailand have secured their place as key travel destinations, while long-haul markets such as the UK, US, and France continue to attract high-spending travellers. South Korea and Thailand are also emerging as healthcare-driven travel destinations, with increasing numbers of Singapore residents seeking medical services abroad. In fact, South Korea saw a 58 per cent rise in healthcare-related travel spending.
Japan and Thailand experienced the highest travel spend growth, recording 42 and 29 per cent year-on-year increase respectively. Meanwhile, Malaysia saw the strongest growth in food and groceries spending at 75 per cent year-on-year, reinforcing its position as a key travel and consumption hub.
“Travel continues to be a key category of spend for Visa cardholders in Singapore. Based on a Visa study, travel is a top priority for Singapore travellers, surpassing other big-ticket spending items such as vehicles, property, healthcare and luxury goods in terms of importance. This finding is aligned with what we’re seeing from our data, where there is strong cross-border spend growth during year-end and festive periods. We continue to see interest in consumers using cards that can earn airline miles for their spend, and other propositions such as zero FX and multi-currency offerings. With the vast data that we see, we can work with our partners to share these key insights and create relevant benefits for our cardholders, making the payment experience seamless and secure when they travel and pay with Visa”, said Adeline Kim, Visa Country Manager for Singapore & Brunei.
As travel planning becomes more strategic, Singapore travellers are making early bookings to manage costs and secure better deals. Spending on alternative airline carriers, including European and Middle Eastern airlines, rose by 15 per cent year-on-year, indicating a growing preference for diverse flight options. In addition, online lodging bookings increased by 16 per cent year-on-year in December last year.
Top travel destinations during Lunar New Year holiday similar to year-end of 2024
The top travel destinations during this year’s Lunar New Year holiday are similar to the year-end break, with the exception of Indonesia taking the fourth spot, replacing South Korea. During the Lunar New Year holiday week, Singapore travellers took the opportunity to spend the week travelling, with a strong spike in cross-border spend at 22 per cent growth compared to the week of Lunar New Year in 2024. eCommerce spend also grew by close to 30 per cent compared to the previous year during the festive period, showing that people were spending more to purchase online, given this year’s Lunar New Year coincides with 2 February.
Malaysia continues to be the top travel corridor, with payments volume growing at 57 per cent compared to the previous Lunar New Year week. The top growing category in Malaysia was jewellery stores, showing over 220 per cent growth compared to the previous year. Japan comes in second as a preferred destination for Singaporeans. During this ski season, Visa saw a 36 per cent growth on cross-border spend compared to the same festive period the year before. Thailand’s healthcare spend also grew at over 59 per cent.
