Singapore’s tourism recovery boosted by major events

Singapore’s tourism industry is set for boomtime thanks to its success in attracting major sports events and concerts.

The city state has welcomed around 6.3 million international visitors so far this year, having only reopened its borders in March 2022 following the pandemic. It is well on track to meet a goal of 12-14 million international visitors annually, particularly with events such as September’s Formula 1 Grand Prix still to come. This year, Singapore played host to pre-season football matches featuring Liverpool FC and Bayern Munich.

International conferences and major concerts have also played a key role in Singapore’s tourism charge, with Guns N’ Roses, Billie Eilish, Blackpink and Harry Styles among those to have visited in the last 12 months.

2024 could be even more successful for Singapore, with Coldplay and Taylor Swift both set to play an unprecedented six gigs at the 55,000-capacity Singapore National Stadium.

“Driving Singapore’s tourism recovery is its smart use of sporting and music events,” Hannah Pearson, director at Pear Anderson, a travel market research organisation focused on Asean, told the South China Morning Post.

“Certainly, many countries in the region – such as Malaysia and Indonesia – are doing some soul searching as to why they were overlooked [by Coldplay, Swift], but with the right marketing in place, they could ultimately benefit from a spillover of tourists from Singapore.”

Earlier this month it was reported that Singapore has witnessed a rise in concert ticket scams this year, with reports that citizens have lost over S$518,000 (£303,000/€352,000/$386,000) between January 1 and July 10.

A written parliamentary reply from Minister for Home Affairs and Law, K. Shanmugam, in response to a question by Radin Mas SMC Member of Parliament Melvin Yong Yik Chye, revealed that the losses were due to ticketing scams for concerts.