Singapore is more expensive than regional peers. So it’s using a different playbook to attract visitors

British national Tony Cross first set foot in Singapore in 1992, when the city-state’s main draws were its glitzy malls, the pulsating Zouk nightclub and the renowned Singapore Zoo.

Today, shopping has taken a backseat, as prices for goods have climbed alongside commercial rents in a city where space is scarce. And, Singapore’s once-thriving clubbing industry is facing tough times, hurt by high costs and shifting alcohol consumption habits.

Competition from other Southeast Asian cities, which are far cheaper to visit, is heating up too.

Rather than competing on price, Singapore is relying on world-class attractions like Marina Bay Sands, Gardens by the Bay and the expanding Mandai Wildlife Reserve to draw both budget and luxury travelers alike.

Others arrive for business conferences and live events, from the annual Formula One night race to concerts by megastars like Taylor Swift and Coldplay. This year, Singapore is hosting concerts by Lady Gaga on May 18, 19, 21 and 24 — her only stop in Asia-Pacific — according to Singapore Airlines, whose reward program, KrisFlyer, is a concert partner.

“Singapore built itself a brilliant position as accessible Southeast Asia in the ’80s and ’90s. But many other cities in the region have now upped their game, too,” said Cross, a financial consultant who has visited the island nation some 20 times over the last three decades.

Singapore attracted 16.5 million overseas visitors in 2024, an increase of 21% from 2023, according to the Singapore Tourism Board. The numbers do not include the hundreds of thousands of people who enter Singapore daily via two bridges that connect Singapore to Malaysia.

That’s a huge increase from 1992, when the city-state attracted fewer than 6 million visitors, according to the country’s National Archives. However, it’s still shy of the 19.1 million who arrived in 2019.

The Singapore Tourism Board forecasts visitor arrivals will grow to between 17 million and 18.5 million this year, boosted by a slew of lifestyle and MICE (meetings, incentives, conventions, and exhibitions) events, as well as new attractions ranging from Rainforest Wild Asia, a park that opened last week, to the Disney Adventure cruise ship scheduled to set sail in December.

The Singapore Tourism Board told CNBC Travel it will continue to support projects that deliver interactive experiences in line with the global shift towards experiential travel.

Galastein Tan, the former head of major events at the company that manages the Singapore Sports Hub, the venue for Taylor Swift’s concerts last year, said Singapore needs a vibrant tourism sector to attract and retain the human capital that makes it a global city. This involves developing a portfolio of fixed assets like Marina Bay Sands and “liquid” assets such as concerts and sporting and cultural events.

Having a wide range of tourism attractions will also boost domestic spending and create jobs locally, he said.

Singapore’s retail and food and beverage sectors contracted last year even as the overall economy expanded by 4.4%, as increased spending by Singapore residents abroad offset the increase in tourism receipts.

“The challenge remains for Singapore to stay ahead as regional countries and cities are catching up and beefing up their own unique tourism portfolios,” Tan said. “Tourists have more options now.”

Expedia, the online travel giant, said searches for flights to Singapore from China, Indonesia and India — the city-state’s three largest sources of visitors — slipped 1% for the period from February to July 2025, compared with the preceding six-month period. Searches for lodging also fell 2% during the same period, the company said.

Singapore remains a popular destination for MICE events, ranking No. 2 after Paris in the International Congress and Convention Association’s 2023 city ranking. Thailand and Malaysia, however, are making inroads into the sector, owing to lower costs and improving infrastructure.

Albert Lee, a Malaysian event organizer, said quality convention space in Kuala Lumpur can be rented for roughly half what it costs in Singapore, while a dinner for 40 at a nice restaurant with entertainment and transportation can be arranged at one-third the price. Costs in Bangkok are comparable to Kuala Lumpur, he added.

“Singapore is the perfect location to hold events — it is nice, safe, accessible and STB is very helpful. But the costs are very high,” he said.

Lee noted that although Kuala Lumpur doesn’t have iconic hotels like Singapore’s Marina Bay Sands, the city’s five-star hotels cost a lot less. For example, a room at the Shangri-la Singapore costs $500 Singapore dollars ($375) a night versus SG$170 a night at its sister hotel in Kuala Lumpur, a review of Hotels.com showed.

The Singapore Tourism Board has been trying to change the perception that Singapore is expensive by emphasizing how much a visitor can do in one day thanks to Singapore’s public transport system, a point that Cross also made.

“We have worked with various influencers to showcase how Singapore offers not just value for money, but also how travelers can maximize their itinerary and time in our destination,” a spokesperson said.

Japanese businessman Yoshihiko Tano, who visits Singapore often to catch up with friends, said that while hotels are costly, eating out is cheap, thanks to the many hawker centers where a meal and drink can be purchased for less than SG$10.

“Hokkien Mee is my favorite local food,” he said, adding that he’s also fond of nature walks in Singapore’s many parks.

The city-state can also count on support from repeat visitors like Nazia Tanzeem, who said that Singapore remains an aspirational destination for Indians thanks to “Dekhoji Dekho Singapore,” a Hindi song in a movie made in 1960.

Tanzeem lived in Singapore for several years before moving to Bangalore, where schooling 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 lifetimes,” she said.