Singapore’s international visitor arrivals reached 1.13 million in April, the second straight month in 2023 with over 1 million visitors and the second time since the COVID outbreak in early 2020.
According to data from the Singapore Tourism Board (STB), visitor arrivals rose by 27 percent monthly, after March saw 1.02 million visitors. By comparison, Macau received almost 2.3 million in April, with the majority being from mainland China.
The April arrival numbers amounted to a new post-pandemic record, despite remaining below the 1.7 million visitors recorded in January of 2020, before the pandemic.
Regarding visitor source markets, Indonesia ranked first, holding its pole position for the 13th month. Singapore welcomed 220,067 visitors in April from the country.
Neighboring Malaysia ranked second, with 98,190 visitors last month – up from 97,835 in March.
Singapore is also attractive for Indians and Australians, as the city-state welcomed 97,029 Indian visitors and 92,937 Australians in April.
China was in fifth place in April, with 90,725 visitors, a strong rise from the 60,888 recorded in March.
According to research from investment bank Maybank last month, Chinese travel to Singapore is recovering at a faster rate than to other ASEAN nations, driven by greater seat capacity and increased demand. Singapore has also emerged as a preferred outbound destination for high-net-worth Chinese and single Chinese women.
The strong rebound in Singapore tourism is also being seen in its gaming revenue. Marina Bay Sands (MBS) recorded earnings that more than trebled to $394 million in 1Q23 from $121 million in the same period of 2022. MBS’ revenue more than doubled to $848 million in 1Q23, from $399 million a year ago.
Fellow duopolist Genting Singapore also reported a surge in its revenue. According to the latest financial report, its net profit rose by 220 percent to $97 million in 1Q23, with revenue rising 54 percent yearly to $363.2 million.
