This article first appeared in The Edge Malaysia Weekly on December 4, 2023 - December 10, 2023

THIRTY-eight-year-old Foo, who is married and has three young children, is unlikely to make Singapore a holiday destination of choice anytime soon. “I would rather travel to another value-for-money destination like Thailand or Vietnam,” she says.

Not only has the Singapore dollar appreciated about 15% versus the ringgit since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic in early 2020, hotel rates have also climbed across the Causeway.

Interestingly, though, Singapore’s healthy inbound tourist numbers from Malaysia show that not every Malaysian is deterred like Foo.

“Malaysia has been a resilient and key source market for Singapore, with consistently strong monthly visitor arrivals this year. Visitor arrivals from Malaysia have recovered to about 90% of 2019 numbers so far, making it one of our top markets in terms of recovery,” Singapore Tourism Board (STB) chief executive Melissa Ow tells The Edge.

Between January and October this year, 891,904 Malaysians visited Singapore, 91.4% of the 975,979 Malaysians who visited the city state during the same period in 2019. In the first 10 months of 2023, tourist arrivals from Malaysia were the third highest after those from Indonesia (1.87 million) and mainland China (1.13 million).

Singapore is Malaysia’s top arrival market. It is worth noting, however, that Malaysia counts a foreigner who enters the country on any mode of transport — air, sea or land — as a tourist so long as they stay at least one night. Those who come for a day trip are referred to as excursionists.

Visitor arrivals in Singapore, meanwhile, refer to international visitors whose length of stay is less than a year and it excludes Malaysian citizens who arrive by land.

Ow is positive that Singapore will continue to draw Malaysian visitors despite the ringgit’s performance.

“We remain confident in Singapore’s appeal to Malaysian travellers. Singapore continues to offer differentiated and value-for-money experiences to attract the right target audience, as well as a robust pipeline of leisure and business events that will entice travellers to visit and revisit,” she says.

“As a source market for tourism spend in Singapore, Malaysia ranked No 7 with about S$733 million in 2019. Post-pandemic, Malaysia was No 6 in terms of tourist receipts recorded at S$430.72 million (RM1.5 billion) in the January to June 2023 period,” she adds.

It would be interesting to see if a stronger Singapore dollar has caused Malaysians to cut short their stay in the city state. The average length of stay of a Malaysian in Singapore was 2.47 days in the first six months of 2023, down from an average of 3.49 days in 2022 but above 2.32 days in 2019.

Even so, overall arrivals in Singapore have improved. According to Ow, the country has seen steady growth in international travel and tourism in 2023. International visitor arrivals reached 11.27 million in the first 10 months of 2023. Since March, monthly visitor arrivals have been above one million. From January to October, Singapore saw a year-on-year increase of 147% compared with the same period in 2022.

“We are confident that we will reach the higher end of our projected 12 million to 14 million visitors for 2023. Tourism receipts are expected to be about S$18 billion to S$21 billion [this year], about two-thirds to three-quarters of pre-Covid-19 levels,” says Ow.

For comparison, Malaysia’s target this year is 16 million arrivals and RM49.2 billion in receipts, up from 10.07 million arrivals and RM28.23 billion in receipts in 2022. In 2019, Malaysia saw 26.1 million arrivals and RM86.1 billion in tourism receipts, official data show.

According to Ow, the top reason why Malaysians are visiting Singapore, which has been reflected in its improving numbers post-Covid-19, is for meeting, incentive, exhibition and convention (MICE) events. “Singapore continues to be an attractive destination for business visitors due to its strong position as the regional business hub, complemented by a robust calendar of MICE events throughout the year.”

On the leisure front, she says, Malaysians are enticed by its vibrant calendar of entertainment and leisure events, along with year-long attractions, for visitors seeking a short break.

Ow says an observation made by Singapore is a growing trend of Malaysian families visiting Singapore, with a rising number of visitors arriving with their young children or elderly family members to bond during vacations. “Singapore’s easy accessibility and diverse range of offerings to cater to multiple generations of visitors contribute significantly to attracting these travellers,” she adds.

Generally, most visitors from Malaysia spend their money on shopping, followed by accommodation and food and beverages.

STB aims to drive desirability and increase consideration of Singapore as a choice destination that is exciting and provides good value for Malaysian visitors, says Ow.

“We will continue to showcase a different side of Singapore to Malaysian consumers, in line with our newly launched ‘Made in Singapore’ campaign in September 2023. Made in Singapore puts a fresh spin on the Passion Made Possible destination brand and spotlights quintessentially Singapore experiences, from iconic attractions to hidden gems, and how ordinary moments are turned into extraordinary experiences in Singapore,” she explains.

STB is collaborating with major travel agents and airlines in Malaysia such as AirAsia, Malaysia Aviation Group, Klook and Agoda to promote travel to Singapore through joint campaigns.

Last month, it signed a memorandum of understanding with TNG Digital and Alipay+ to offer visitors from Malaysia curated deals for their next holiday in Singapore. “Our partnership will introduce more cashless payment options to travellers and allow them to access a range of promotions when in destination,” says Ow.

“Such partnerships are an example of how we work with relevant in-market partners to target the right audiences, sustain the mindshare of Singapore in a competitive landscape, and deliver a seamless journey from pre- to post-trip for travellers.”

It is not unusual to see travellers who visit Malaysia also visit Singapore and vice versa. To this end, STB and Tourism Malaysia work together to attract tourists to the region.

Ow says that since Singapore is the Asean coordinator for cruise development, it collaborates with Asean member states in developing and marketing the region as an attractive cruising destination for global travellers.

“Some initiatives include joint marketing efforts where Asean member states will have a coordinated presence at major global trade shows like Seatrade Cruise Global to promote cruising to and within Southeast Asia, as well as exploring new sailing routes within Southeast Asia for varied sailing itineraries. For instance, cruise passengers on ships sailing out of Singapore have been calling at Port Klang and Penang, enjoying both Singapore and Malaysia’s diverse offerings and experiences,” she says, adding that key European and North American tour operators commonly feature Malaysian cities or states such as Penang, Kuala Lumpur and Langkawi as part of a multi-city package.

In fact, the Disney Cruise Line will be homeporting its Disney cruise ship exclusively in Singapore for at least five years, beginning in 2025. However, the route of the cruise line has yet to be confirmed and so it is not known if Malaysia will be one of its ports of call.

Ow says that apart from the intense competition from destinations seeking to attract tourists, particularly now as global travel recovers, other challenges include global economic and political headwinds that have raised the cost of living and consumer goods and services, including travel. For Malaysia, the challenge also lies in the fact that many Malaysians are familiar with Singapore and there are misperceptions that the city state is small and expensive, with a limited number of attractions.

Citing the Digital 2023 Global Overview Report, produced in partnership with Meltwater and We Are Social, Ow says that as at January 2023, close to 97% of Malaysia’s population were internet users and more than 78% were on social media.

Visitors generally are increasingly dependent on social media and digital news portals for information and travel recommendations as well as recommendations from friends, influencers and opinion leaders that resonate with them and other visitors who share a similar passion for travel.

“More than half of Malaysians follow friends and family on social media and a significant group follows celebrities, chefs or restaurants and influencers. This underscores the importance of leveraging these personalities to build our brand,” says Ow.

“Hence, STB takes a social or digital-first approach in our marketing mix and we also work with the relevant personalities, ranging from media to celebrities and influencers to raise awareness of our destinations.”

In 2022, S$500 million was earmarked to support the tourism sector over the next few years, which includes business support and product development and marketing and recovery.

Meanwhile, Ow remains confident of the prospects for Singapore’s tourism sector and its ability to attract quality visitors who explore more and stay longer. Upcoming attractions include two new immersive experiences at Resorts World Sentosa’s Universal Studios Singapore — Minions Land and Super Nintendo World — and a state-of-the-art entertainment arena at Marina Bay Sands. The island republic is also integrating five of its wildlife parks with nature-based experiences, its green public spaces and an eco-friendly resort. 

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