International visitor spending in Singapore 2010-2018
In 2018, the international overnight visitor spend in Singapore was at around 16.56 billion U.S. dollars. This placed Singapore among the top countries in terms of international overnight visitor spending in that year. This was predicted to decrease, however, in 2020, due to weakened visitor numbers in the first quarter of the year.
Increasing visitor numbers, decreasing visitor expenditure
Singapore’s appeal as a tourist destination had been increasing in the past five years, with international visitor numbers growing year-on-year. Despite the increasing number of visitors, however, visitor spend had not been growing correspondingly. This was attributed to a decrease in tourists’ expenditure on shopping.
Impact of the novel coronavirus outbreak on tourism
In 2019, the main markets for tourism in Singapore were China, Indonesia, and India. Correspondingly, China contributed significantly to the total tourism spend, and Chinese tourists were more likely to spend on shopping activities. With the outbreak of the novel coronavirus in January 2020, arrivals to Singapore, especially from China, fell drastically. On January 31, 2020, Singapore barred entry for all arrivals from China indefinitely, in a bid to contain the spread of the virus within its borders. Not surprisingly, this had a drastic impact on the tourism industry, which was already coping with a reduction in visitor spend.
Increasing visitor numbers, decreasing visitor expenditure
Singapore’s appeal as a tourist destination had been increasing in the past five years, with international visitor numbers growing year-on-year. Despite the increasing number of visitors, however, visitor spend had not been growing correspondingly. This was attributed to a decrease in tourists’ expenditure on shopping.
Impact of the novel coronavirus outbreak on tourism
In 2019, the main markets for tourism in Singapore were China, Indonesia, and India. Correspondingly, China contributed significantly to the total tourism spend, and Chinese tourists were more likely to spend on shopping activities. With the outbreak of the novel coronavirus in January 2020, arrivals to Singapore, especially from China, fell drastically. On January 31, 2020, Singapore barred entry for all arrivals from China indefinitely, in a bid to contain the spread of the virus within its borders. Not surprisingly, this had a drastic impact on the tourism industry, which was already coping with a reduction in visitor spend.
