Singapore tourism receipts climb 5.8% to S$8.6 billion in Q1 amid quality tourism push
Shopping is a key driver of spending, with 7 of the top 10 markets recording growth in the component
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[SINGAPORE] The Republic collected S$8.6 billion in tourism receipts in the first quarter of 2026, up 5.8 per cent from the S$8.1 billion recorded in the corresponding period a year earlier.
This came as international visitor arrivals rose 2.9 per cent year on year to 4.4 million in Q1 2026, against Q1 2025’s 4.3 million, data from the Singapore Tourism Board (STB) showed on Wednesday (Jul 15).
“The increase in tourism receipts was driven by healthy visitor spending, in line with Singapore’s strategy to grow quality tourism,” the agency said.
Still, it warned that amid continued global uncertainty, visitor demand is expected to moderate.
On a quarterly basis, visitor spending slipped by a marginal 1.1 per cent, from S$8.6 billion in the final quarter of 2025.
Mixed across components
The improved tourism receipts performance in Q1 2026 came as major components made mixed showings, with three of the five components tracking higher spending compared with January to March 2025.
Expenditure on sightseeing, entertainment and gaming (SEG) marked the largest jump year on year, up 22.8 per cent at S$2 billion. This was followed by shopping, where tourism receipts rose 7 per cent to S$1.4 billion.
The “other components” segment – which includes spending on airfares on Singapore-based carriers, port taxes, local transportation, business, medical, education and transit visitors – was up 1.3 per cent at S$2.5 billion.
In contrast, F&B dropped 1.9 per cent to S$1.2 billion and accommodation fell marginally by 0.2 per cent to S$1.4 billion.
STB noted that shopping was a key tourism receipts growth driver: Seven of the top 10 markets by tourism receipts recorded year-on-year growth in shopping spend in Q1. This was primarily driven by strong visitor spending on high-value retail categories, the agency said.
China still leads
By market, mainland China remained the top tourism receipts generator for Singapore in Q1 2026, contributing S$1.3 billion in revenue, excluding the SEG segment due to commercial sensitivity.
This was up 3.4 per cent from its contribution in Q1 2025.
In Q1 2026, the number of visitors to Singapore from mainland China was up 9.9 per cent year on year at 913,407.
Indonesia was the next-largest tourism receipts contributor, bringing in S$719.7 million, though this was 0.5 per cent lower than in the corresponding period of the preceding year.
International visitors from Indonesia slipped 2.2 per cent year on year, to 626,225 in the quarter.
Australia (S$533.3 million), the US (S$465.7 million) and India (S$374.1 million) rounded out the list of Singapore’s top five tourism receipts-generating markets.
The contributions from Australia and India were up 1.2 per cent and 7.5 per cent, respectively, on a yearly basis.
In Q1 2026, there were 311,886 visitors from Australia, 1.2 per cent more than in the previous year. From India, there were 247,381 tourists, or about 5.4 per cent fewer than in Q1 2025.
Tourism receipts from the US in Q1 2026 fell 3.2 per cent year on year. Singapore drew 206,543 visitors from the US in the quarter, 0.7 per cent more than in Q1 2025.
STB said that in the second half of the year, macroeconomic uncertainties and capacity constraints will continue to weigh on travel. It highlighted mainland China, Australia and Malaysia as resilient top source markets for Singapore.
Melissa Ow, STB chief executive, remarked on the city-state’s continued appeal, but noted challenges ahead.
“As visitor arrivals from some source markets soften and global uncertainty persists, we are working closely with our partners to drive visitor demand,” she said.
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