Visitor arrivals in 2022 exceed the forecast

• Singapore welcomed 6.3 million visitors in 2022, more than the 4-6 million forecast. The number of arrivals recorded a 1801.4% y-o-y growth, from 329,985 visitors in 2021. Since Singapore reopened the international borders in Q2, visitor arrivals have continued to grow each month. As a result, international arrivals in Q4 have returned to 53.5% of 2019 levels.
• The top five source markets in 2022 were Indonesia (17.5%), India (10.9%), Malaysia (9.4%), Australia (9.0%) and Philippines (6.1%). China, who was the top source market for Singapore before COVID-19, was not in the list due to the country’s border restrictions.

Addition of 416 rooms in December 2022

• Two hotels totalling 416 rooms opened their doors in December 2022. They were the 326-room Pullman Singapore Orchard and the 90-room The Serangoon House, a Tribute Portfolio (formerly The Claremont Hotel). The two hotels were rebranded after extensive renovation works.
• At the end of 2022, Singapore counted 61,790 rooms, an increase of 0.1% y-o-y. Most of the hotels that opened in 2022 had undergone rebranding and/or major renovation works. Major hotels that closed for renovation/rebranding during 2022 included the Grand Hyatt Singapore and Conrad Orchard. 2,216 rooms are anticipated to enter the market in 2023, including new openings and reopenings.

Luxury RevPAR reaches 87% of 2019 levels, led by ADR

• Luxury revenue per available room (RevPAR) recorded a 160.4% y-o-y growth to SGD 274 in 2022, led by the 146.1% y-o-y growth in average daily rate (ADR), reaching SGD 475 and exceeding that of 2019 by 18%. Occupancy grew by 3.2 percentage points to reach 57.8%.
• Singapore’s market was strongly active in Q4 with several big events and the year-end festive season, including the F1 in October and two conferences in November, Bloomberg and JP Morgan. This led to a significant improvement in both occupancy and ADR.

Outlook: 12-14 million visitors are expected to visit Singapore in 2023

• The visitor forecast of 12-14 million for 2023 would be more than double the 6.3 million final tally of visitors in 2022, yet below the 19.1 million arrivals in 2019. The reopening of China would support the growth of visitation in Singapore, however this is likely to happen from Q2 onwards. High-end leisure and corporate travellers from China are likely to return first.
• The Singapore hotel trading performance is expected to remain strong. With China’s borders opening, hotels in Singapore are likely to catch up on occupancy, and narrow the gap with pre-COVID-19 levels. In general, the market is expected to maintain room rates, particularly in the luxury segment. Midscale or lower-end properties might focus more on occupancy instead.