Singapore beats Thailand, Vietnam in regional race to lure back Chinese tourists

More than 327,000 Chinese tourists arrived in Singapore in February, reaching 96% of pre-pandemic levels in 2019, according to the Singapore Tourism Board.

Thailand received over 600,000 Chinese tourists last month, equivalent to 60% of the same period in 2019 while Vietnam welcomed 295,000 tourists from China, nearly half of pre-pandemic levels, according to tourism authorities.

Singapore has become the latest country in Southeast Asia to drop visa requirements for Chinese tourists, with mutual visa waiver that took effect on Feb. 9.

Thailand and Malaysia waived visas for citizens from the world's second most populous country last December.

Chinese tourists stayed for an average of 4.22 days as against the overall 3.46 days by foreign tourists, a decline of 8.7% year-on-year, according to the Singapore Tourism Board.

Despite complaints about expensive travel costs in the city state, the average outlay per visit of Chinese to Singapore for expenses like flights and hotels rose 30% from a year earlier, Bloomberg reported citing Trip.com data.

Deemed one of the world's safest places, Singapore, famous for its strict gun control and low crime rates, has started benefiting from the change in Chinese travel sentiment.

Thailand’s tourism reputation has recently been tarnished following a mall shooting and high crime rates involving foreigners.