Singapore dear? Yes but travelers visit other reasons

British national Tony Cross first stepped in Singapore in 1992, when the city’s main draw was its brilliant shopping centers, a throbbing Night Club Zouk and a famous Singapore Zoo.

Today, the purchases have taken the back seat as the prices for the goods rose with a commercial rent in the city where space is small. And, when Singapore’s one-time-transparent industry faces heavy times, it hurts high costs and switching alcohol intake.

Competition from other Southeast Asia cities, which are much cheaper for visiting, is also heated.

Instead of competing at the price, Singapore relies on world -level attractions as Marina Bay Sands. Gardens near the bay and expansion The Wildlife Reserve Mandai attract both the budget and the luxurious travelers.

Others come to business conferences and live events, from the formula’s annual race to the mega -artist concerts such as Taylor Swift and Coldplay. This year, Singapore holds concerts Lady Gaga 18, 19, 21 and 24-one stop in the Asia-Pacific region-by-the-points of the Singapore Airline, the award program for the concert.

“Singapore has built itself brilliant position as an affordable southeastern Asia in the 80s and 90s. But many other cities in the region also increased their game,” said Chris, a financial advisor who visited the island nation about 20 times in the last three decades.

Singapore attracted 16.5 million foreign visitors in 2024, which is 21% compared to 2023, according to the Singapore Tourism Council. The numbers do not include hundreds of thousands of people who enter Singapore daily through two bridges connecting Singapore with Malaysia.

This is a huge growth compared to 1992, when the city state has raised less than 6 million visitors, the National Archives of the country reports. However, it is still ashamed of 19.1 million, which arrived in 2019.

The Singapore Tourism Council predicts that visitors’ arrival will grow to 17 million and 18.5 million this year, which are intensified by lifestyle and mice (meetings, incentives, conventions and exhibitions) Tropical Forest Wild AsiaThe park, which opened last week, on the Disney Adventure Cruise ship, which plans to sail in December.

The Singapore Tourism Council told Travel CNBC It will continue to support projects that provide an interactive experience in accordance with the global shift to travel experience.

Galasen Tan, former head of major campaign activities that manages Singapore Sports Hub, a venue for Taylor Swift’s concerts last year, said Singapore needed a live tourist sector to attract and preserve the human capital that makes it a world city. This involves developing a fixed asset portfolio such as Marina Bay Sands and “liquid” assets such as concerts and sports and cultural events.

He said that a wide range of tourist attractions would also increase internal costs and create jobs locally, he said.

The Singapore Sectors of Retail Trade and Food and Beverages signed a contract last year, even if the total economy increased by 4.4%, as increasing the cost of Singapore residents abroad offset by the increase in tourism revenues.

“The task that Singapore remains forward as regional countries and cities catch up and strengthen their own unique tourist portfolios,” Tan said. “Tourists now have more options.”

The expedition, the Internet travel giant, said the search for flights to Singapore from China, Indonesia and India-three largest sources of visitors to the city-1% for the period from February to July 2025 compared to the previous six-month period. Housing searches also decreased by 2% over the same period, the company notes.

Singapore remains a popular place for mice activities, rating # 2 after Paris in the international ranking of the Congress and the 2023 Convention. Thailand and Malaysia, however, enter the sector with a reduction in costs and improving infrastructure.

Albert Lee, the Malaysian event organizer, said the quality place of the congress in the Kuala Lumpur could be rented about half the same than costs in Singapore, and a 40-in-good dinner in a good restaurant with fun and transport can be organized for one-third price. The costs in Bangkok are comparable to Kuala -Lump, he added.

“Singapore is the perfect place for events – it’s nice, safe, accessible, and STB is very useful. But the costs are very high,” he said.

Lee noted that although there are no iconic hotels in Kuala-Lumpur, such as Singapore Marina-Bay Paeks, five-star city hotels are much smaller. For example, a number in Singapore Singri-La costs $ 500 in Singapore ($ 375) over the night compared to $ 170 a night at his Nursing Hotel in Kuala Lumpur, a shown review of Hotels.com.

The Singapore Tourism Council is trying to change the perception of what Singapore dear, emphasizing how much the visitor can do in one day thanks to the Singapore Public Transport system, and the point that has also made.

“We collaborated with different influential participants to show how Singapore offers not only value for money, but also how travelers can maximize their route and time in our place,” the press secretary said.

Japanese Yoshichiko’s Japanese business, who often visits Singapore to catch up with friends, said that while hotels are expensive, food is cheap, thanks to many Hawker centers, where food and drink can be purchased less than $ 10.

“Hokien Mi is my favorite local food,” he said, adding that he also loves nature walking in many Singapore parks.

The city-state can also count on the support of repeated visitors, such as the tanzem nation, which stated that Singapore remains the initial place for the Indians thanks “Dekhoji Dekho Singapore“Hindi’s song in a film made in 1960.

Tazem lived in Singapore for several years before moving to Bangalore, where training for her children is cheaper, but her husband continues to work in the city-state, she said.

“There are many people who would like to visit Singapore at least once in their lives,” she said.