Featured Image: Mike Enerio on Unsplash
Entertainment, concerts and sporting events helped to drive tourism in Singapore in 2024, with international visitor arrivals increasing by 21% compared to last year to reach 16.5 million.
Spend categories have demonstrated year-on-year growth, led by sightseeing, entertaining and gaming at 25%. A full calendar of lifestyle events and concerts, as well as key leisure and sporting events, have helped to cement the city-state as a top destination.
Singapore hosted performances from international stars such as Coldplay, Ed Sheeran and Taylor Swift in 2024 – not only attracting swathes of tourists, but also boosting adjacent industries such as retail, hospitality and hotels.
Last year, Swift performed six sold-out shows at Singapore’s 55,000-capacity National Stadium – the singer’s only stop in south-east Asia.
Singapore’s then-Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong defended a deal which saw his government provide Swift with an incentive to make Singapore her only stop in the region.
He said at the time: “It has turned out to be a very successful arrangement.”
Loong’s comments came after the deal was criticised by Thailand’s Prime Minister at the time, Srettha Thavisin.
Additional events such as Anime Festival Asia and Singapore Comic Con helped to boost numbers, as well as blockbuster sports events like the Singapore Formula 1 Grand Prix. Last year also saw the launch of new and enhanced attractions such as the Asia premiere of Harry Potter: Visions of Magic exhibition at Resorts World Sentosa and more.
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