Singapore outpaces neighboring countries in regaining Chinese tourists

Singapore has emerged as a leader in the repatriation of Chinese tourists, outperforming both Thailand and Vietnam with an astounding 96% recovery rate.

According to the Singapore Tourism Board, 327,000 Chinese visitors visited the city-state last month, almost reaching pre-COVID levels. However, more than 600,000 Chinese visitors came in Thailand in February, accounting for 60% of all visitors from that nation during the same time frame in 2019.

Meanwhile, 295,000 Chinese visitors came to Vietnam, almost half as many as before the outbreak, according to tourism officials.

On February 9, Singapore and other countries in Southeast Asia announced a bilateral agreement to remove visa restrictions for Chinese visitors. As of the previous year, Chinese nationals were no longer needing a visa to enter Malaysia and Thailand.

As to the Singapore Tourism Board, the average duration of stay for Chinese tourists in Singapore was 4.22 days, whilst the average stay for international visitors was 3.46 days, indicating an 8.7% decline from the previous year.

Despite worries about Singapore’s expensive travel, Chinese tourists’ average expenditure per visit increased by 30% over the previous year, according to Trip.com data that Bloomberg reported. This increase covered hotel and airfare costs.

Despite setbacks such as a shooting at a shopping center and an increase in crimes connected to foreigners, Chinese travelers continue to flock to Thailand.

According to Chinese media sources, approximately 11 million Chinese tourists traveled to Thailand in 2019, accounting for roughly 25% of all international visitors. There are 41 Chinese cities that provide direct flights to Thailand.

According to Tongcheng statistics, this month witnessed a 200 percent rise in searches for travel-related items linked to Thailand and an 80% spike in plane ticket sales from China to Thailand.

Thailand now is set to legalize casinos, and the Thai House is set to discuss new casino legislation on March 28.

Original story by: Asia Gaming Brief