Singapore, ranked the world’s second richest country by GDP per capita, saw tourism receipts fall 6.2% year-on-year to S$7.21 billion (US$5.6 billion) in the second quarter of 2026 amid global uncertainty.
Tourism receipts for the first half of 2026 totaled S$15.71 billion, down 0.3% year-on-year, Singapore Tourism Board (STB) said in a report this week.
The board attributed the decline to a challenging global environment, saying the escalation of the Middle East conflict in the first quarter drove up fuel costs, reduced air capacity and heightened economic uncertainty, affecting international travel, particularly from European markets.
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A tourist takes photos at the Merlion Park in Singapore, Jan. 28, 2020. Photo by Reuters |
In the first half of this year, internatinal arrivals to Singapore declined 1.7% to 8.19 million.
Despite these headwinds, tourism spending remained relatively resilient.
China remained Singapore’s largest source of tourism spending in the second quarter, with visitors from the country contributing S$965.5 million, down 1.9% from the same period in 2025.
Indonesia was the second-largest contributor, at S$589.7 million, though takings fell 15.2% from a year earlier.
This was followed by Australia at $526.7 million (5.6%), India at $471.6 million (down 5.6%) and the U.S. at $427.2 million (16.1%).