The road ahead for S'pore tourism

Singapore Tourism Board chief weighs in on upcoming attractions, staying competitive and creating value for tourists

- Sarah Stanley

In 1964, Singapore welcomed 91,000 tourists to its shores. In 2023, that number increased by nearly 150 times to 13.6 million tourist arrivals, cementing the Republic as one of South-east Asia's top travel destinations.

However, promoting the island which was historically recognised as a trading post - as a premier tourist hot spot was once an afterthought.

Tourism took centre stage only after the Singapore Tourist Promotion Board (STPB) was established in January 1964.

During an address at a luncheon held that month, then-Minister for Finance Goh Keng Swee said the launch of STPB marked "the first time in Singapore's history that the Government has decided to accept as a conscious policy the promotion of an increasing inflow of tourists into the state".

He laid out two main functions of STPB: to attract as many tourists as possible to Singapore, and to ensure they get good value for money.

In November 1997, STPB was renamed Singapore Tourism Board (STB) to reflect the board's expanded role beyond tourism promotion and into development.

Today, it is still focused on increasing tourist arrivals and providing quality tourism experiences.

In an interview with The Straits Times, STB's chief executive Melissa Ow underscores tourism's pivotal role as an economic driver for Singapore.

"Tourism receipts and arrivals are still the key indicators of tourism performance. Though now, it's probably more tourism receipts, because, ultimately, it's about the overall economic impact," she says.

It took 19.1 million visitor arrivals to hit $27.7 billion in tourism receipts in 2019, a record high.

Singapore is projecting tourism receipts between $27.5 billion and $29 billion for 2024, but with a smaller forecast of 15 to 16.5 million visitor arrivals.