Visa, STB sign three-year MOU to boost Singapore’s destination appeal and growth

[SINGAPORE] Digital payments company Visa and the Singapore Tourism Board (STB) are teaming up to strengthen the city-state’s tourism appeal and create more reasons to return, under a three-year memorandum of understanding.

The collaboration will focus on three pillars, they said in a joint statement on Friday (Oct 23):

• Driving discovery of Singapore’s tourism products, especially its dining and night-time experiences;
• Deriving insights to identify “high-value tourism opportunities”; and
• Developing “co-branded marketing campaigns to build brand preference” for both Visa and Singapore.

Singapore will join Visa’s global travel programme Visa Destinations, becoming the second Asia-Pacific country to do so, after Thailand.

The move reinforces Singapore’s “position as a leading travel hub”, Visa and STB said, noting that other cities in the programme include London, New York and Paris.

The collaboration “will leverage Visa Destinations... to introduce strategic partnerships, flagship initiatives and experiences across Singapore’s tourism precincts and high-yield traveller segments”.

Visa Destinations will commence in Singapore in November.

Benefits, local experiences

Under the MOU, Visa and STB will work together to curate benefits and local experiences, including in attractions, dining, entertainment, retail and tours, which the organisations noted are key tourism spend categories.

Visa’s spend trend data and insights “can sharpen the understanding of visitor segments, source markets and experiences with the greatest potential for higher-value demand, deeper exploration and repeat travel”, they said.

Visa’s data from April 2025 to March 2026 showed that repeat visitors spend about four times more than first-time visitors.

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The collaboration will identify offers that showcase local businesses across precincts. They will also introduce benefits and experience packages for Visa cardholders at key attractions.

Night-time experiences will be in focus, Visa and STB said, noting that Singapore’s “night-time dynamism is a compelling part of its destination appeal”.

Data from Visa indicated that there was uplift in spend on restaurant and entertainment categories by two-thirds during the F1 night race week in Singapore, with spending growing throughout the day.

“High-value tourism opportunities”

The collaboration will also draw on Visa’s cardholder data and analytics capabilities to identify “high-value tourism opportunities”.

Visa data as at September 2026 showed that, among its cardholders, those from Australia, Indonesia, mainland China, Malaysia and the US formed some of the largest inbound travel corridors to Singapore, aligning with STB visitor arrival data.

Pooling Visa and STB’s data will help them better “(understand) visitor behaviour and preferences, tailor more targeted initiatives in response, and ensure efforts are focused on markets and segments with the highest potential for high-value tourism growth”.

Co-branded campaigns

Visa and STB will develop co-branded marketing campaigns, rolling out initiatives “across key source markets... (combining) tailored travel content with exclusive access and experiences for Visa cardholders”.

Adeline Kim, group country manager, regional South-east Asia, and senior vice-president for Asia-Pacific global clients at Visa, said that the partnership is about turning Singapore’s existing appeal into “deeper engagement”.

Visa Destinations will “help turn inspiration into action” by connecting cardholders with benefits, exclusive access and distinctive experiences, she added.

STB CEO Melissa Ow said that the partnership with Visa “brings together its global reach, insights and network of partners with STB’s destination expertise to curate compelling, high-quality experiences and data-driven marketing campaigns that resonate with travellers’ interests”.