Orchard Road Christmas light-up expected to draw 4-5 million visitors, on a par with pre-Covid levels
To draw crowds, the Orchard Road Business Association will be rolling out new initiatives such as a bar-hopping ‘passport’ offering diners signature cocktails at special prices
AMID softer retail numbers, this year’s Orchard Road Christmas light-up is expected to draw between four and five million visitors, on a par with pre-pandemic levels, said Orchard Road Business Association (Orba) chairman Mark Shaw.
He was speaking at a media conference on Wednesday (Oct 23) to unveil this year’s Christmas On A Great Street light-up, which will take place from Nov 9 to Jan 1, 2025, along Singapore’s prime shopping belt.
Last year’s Christmas on A Great Street light-up and ancillary activities drew a turnout of about 4.1 million visitors, hitting pre-Covid levels, he said. Locals made up about 70 per cent of visitorship numbers, with the rest from tourists.
Orba did not provide an estimated ratio split for this year’s attendance but noted that Orchard Road has historically seen a 50:50 mix of locals and tourists during pre-pandemic times. “We really feel that the visitor numbers are there… (though) you know, retail numbers have been a little soft this year,” said Shaw.
Singapore’s tourism receipts for the first half of 2024 stood at S$14.9 billion, up 19.6 per cent from the year-earlier period. International visitor arrivals rose 30.1 per cent to 8.2 million during the same period. On a quarterly basis, tourism receipts grew 5.9 per cent year on year in Q2 2024 to S$6.8 billion – though this was a 15.6 per cent drop in visitor spending from the first quarter.
When asked if the stronger Singapore dollar will affect tourist spending during the festive season, especially from the mainland Chinese, Shaw replied that the event was “not entirely dependent” on this segment of visitors. “Obviously, this position of the Singapore dollar does make it harder for people to spend. But Christmas is more than just shopping; it’s about lifestyle experiences.” He added: “The Christmas light-up is not just for tourists, it’s for locals as well… it’s to give everyone in Singapore and all our visitors a great time during this Christmas season.”
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More lifestyle experiences; nightlife offerings
To that end, this year’s Christmas on A Great Street light-up will be rolling out new lifestyle-focused initiatives such as ORBar on A Great Street, a bar-hopping “passport” that offers diners signature cocktails at special prices in the precinct.
There will also be a 14-metre-tall outdoor Christmas tree and nightly immersive snowfall shows.
The bar-hopping initiative is designed to invigorate nightlife along Orchard Road and draw attention to the many new hotels that have opened up on the stretch in the last couple of years, explained Shaw.
Pointing out that Orba has typically focused on improving retail offerings and street-level amenities, he added: “As part of Orchard Road’s attraction, nightlife has been slightly neglected. So we would really like to highlight and help promote our stakeholders’ offerings. Hotels have been doing very well on Orchard Road lately, so this helps their scene and brings attention to their bars and what they can offer.”
Deborah Heng, country manager at Mastercard Singapore, noted that tourists are increasingly prioritising experiences and nightlife entertainment over spending on material goods, citing a 2024 Mastercard Economics Institute report on travel trends.
Orba will also be bringing back its Christmas Eve street party for the second time, which saw over 130,000 visitors in 2023. The event – which will stretch 400 metres from Ion Orchard to Ngee Ann City – will feature live DJ performances, roving mascots, pop-up stalls, food trucks and a countdown to Christmas, among other offerings.
There will be two Great Christmas Villages at Shaw House Urban Plaza and Ngee Ann City Civic Plaza this year. Besides carnival rides, there will be live performances by local buskers and bands on weekends at Ngee Ann City Civic Plaza.
A total of 130,800 man hours were spent on the production of the light-up, with 16,200 hours taken for installation.
“2024 has been a year of resilience and recovery for Singapore. Our economic outlook remains robust as we continue to adapt and innovate in a rapidly changing global landscape,” added Shaw.
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