Content Writer: Janice Chew • Saturday, 25/11/2025 - 22:57:16 - PM
Last month Singapore recorded around 1.38 million international visitor arrivals, representing a roughly 4.9% year-on-year increase. Of those, approximately 1.02 million were overnight visitors, marking a modest gain of about 2.2% compared with the same month last year. Interestingly, the average length of stay declined slightly, reaching about 3.38 days, down by roughly 3.1% year-on-year.
A major driver of the growth was the robust sports and MICE (meetings, incentives, conferences, exhibitions) calendar. High-profile events, such as the Formula 1 Singapore Grand Prix and large-scale conferences, boosted Singapore’s appeal as both a leisure and business destination. The combination of sports tourism and business-event travelers appears to be a key strategic lever for the tourism sector.
In terms of source markets, some interesting shifts were noted. While traditional major feeders such as mainland China (≈ 226,000 visitors) and Indonesia (≈ 177,000 visitors) saw relatively flat growth, one standout was South Korea—about 50,780 Korean visitors came in October, marking a 21% increase year-on-year, thanks in part to holiday-linked promotions and outbound travel trends in Korea. Australia also contributed about 116,000 arrivals, while Malaysia remains a key source market though with more modest growth.
From a tourism-industry perspective, the uptick is meaningful. Hotels and resorts can expect healthier occupancies, especially in event-heavy weeks, and ancillary spend (retail, F&B) is likely to benefit. For casino/hospitality developments (including integrated resorts) the dual traffic of leisure and event-driven guests opens up cross-selling opportunities (e.g., spa/wellness, dining, gambling). The fact that the average stay is shorter suggests that the “event surge” may concentrate arrivals into tighter windows — potentially boosting short-stay-spend but also heightening competition for room availability during peak times.
Considering regional competition (e.g., Hong Kong, Macao, Kuala Lumpur) and Singapore’s ambition to strengthen its MICE and sport-tourism credentials, maintaining a strong and diverse events pipeline will be key. The government and tourism-boards’ promotional strategies (especially into high-growth markets like South Korea) appear to be working, but the slight dip in stay-length signals a need to further encourage longer stays or higher-value visits.
