Singapore welcomed a total of 326,970 mainland Chinese tourists in February 2024, according to tourism statistics released by the Singapore Tourism Board (STB).

This number was more than eight times the amount of mainland Chinese tourists that visited Singapore in February 2023, which was 35,310.

This increase in arrivals from mainland China was aligned with the Ministry of Trade and Industry's expectations that the number of tourists from the region would surge as outbound travel from China and flight connectivity between Singapore and China continue to improve.

Concurrently, the arrivals number might have been further boosted by the 30-day mutual visa exemption arrangement between the two countries, which came into effect on Feb. 9, 2024.

Under the new arrangement, ordinary passport holders from Singapore and China can enter both countries visa-free for 30 days for tourism, family visits, and business purposes.

1.44 million tourists visited Singapore last month

Going by geographical data, mainland China was also where the largest number of tourists for Singapore came from.

It was followed by Indonesia (190,760 visitors), Malaysia (100,200 visitors), Australia (79,570 visitors), and the United Kingdom (69,920 visitors).

Overall, Singapore welcomed 1.44 million tourists across the globe in February 2024 who, on average, spent 3.46 days on the island.

The inflow of tourists last month also helped the passenger traffic at Changi Airport to surpass pre-Covid levels for the first time since the pandemic struck Singapore.

Top image via Yesheng Liang/Unsplash