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Singapore flags weaker tourism spending as global travel industry faces uncertainty

Singapore forecast lower tourism spending despite higher visitor arrivals.
Middle East tensions and fuel costs weighed on the travel demand outlook.

Singapore, long viewed as a bellwether for the global economy, expects tourism spending to soften this year despite forecasting another increase in visitor arrivals, reflecting concerns that conflicts in the Middle East could weigh on consumer and business spending.

The Singapore Tourism Board projected tourism receipts of 31 billion and 32.5 billion Singapore dollars ($24 billion to $25.6 billion) in 2026, compared with a record of 32.8 billion Singapore dollars last year. International arrivals are forecast to rise to between 17 million and 18 million this year, from 16.9 million in 2025.

The city-state is a regional hub for business travel and airline stopovers and has hosted major events, including the Formula One Singapore Grand Prix and concerts by megastars Taylor Swift, Coldplay and Blackpink. Tourism accounted for 6% of Singapore’s services exports in 2024, according to the Singapore Tourism Board.

Despite visitor arrivals rising 3% in the first quarter from a year earlier, tourism spending is expected to soften because of “muted demands in the months ahead”, Melissa Ow, chief executive of Singapore’s Tourism Board, said at the country’s annual industry conference.

The caution from Singapore’s tourism authorities echoes broader concerns across the business travel industry. The Global Business Travel Association said geopolitical tensions and higher fuel costs were creating instability across international travel markets, even as Asia remained comparatively resilient.

Asia Pacific accounts for more than 40% of global business travel spending, according to the Global Business Travel Association.

Suzanne Neufang, CEO of the Global Business Travel Association, told CNBC’s Monica Pitrelli that business travel globally has yet to fully recover to pre-pandemic levels, even as travel costs remain elevated.

While geopolitical or economic “wobbles” are inevitable, Singapore’s tourism strategy still has “one and a half decades to go,” Ow said.

Singapore’s “Tourism 2040″ strategy aims to increase tourism receipts to between 47 and 50 billion Singapore dollars by 2040.

In 2025, a record of 70 million passengers passed through Singapore’s Changi Airport.