Singapore’s November visitor arrival tally was 1.1 million, flat month-on-month when compared to October’s 1.13 million. The November result took the city-state’s visitor aggregate for the first eleven months of 2023 to 12.37 million, up by 130.2 percent year-on-year, according to the latest data from Singapore Tourism Board.

The January to November total was circa 71.1 percent of the same period in the pre-pandemic trading year 2019, when Singapore logged 17.39-million visitor arrivals.

In November, Indonesia and China kept their spots as the city-state’s top source markets for tourists. During that month, Indonesia supplied 183,890 visitors. Mainland China was second, contributing 104,280.

January to November arrivals from Indonesia stood at 2.06 million, 74.4 percent of the same period in 2019, when Singapore logged 2.77 million from that market.

Mainland China supplied 1.23 million visitors in the first 11 months, circa 36.7 percent of the same period in 2019, when China accounted for 3.35 million visitors to the city-state.

Other major source markets for Singapore for the first 11 months of 2023 included Malaysia (985,350), India (977,480), and Australia (972,660).

Singapore is home to a casino resort duopoly: Resorts World Sentosa, operated by a unit of Genting Singapore Ltd; and Marina Bay Sands, run by a unit of Las Vegas Sands Corp. The latter also controls Sands China Ltd, part of a six-operator setup in the Macau casino market.

Singapore and China aim to implement “in early 2024” a mutual 30-day visa-exemption scheme for certain visitors, according to a December 7 statement from the Prime Minister’s Office Singapore.

The arrangement was part of more than 20 memoranda of understanding and agreements reached between the countries, amid a bilateral meeting attended by Singapore deputy prime minister Lawrence Wong, and China vice premier Ding Xuexiang, in Tianjin, northern China.

Currently, mainland China passport holders wishing to visit Singpore need to apply for a visa. Currently, Singaporeans are entitled to 15-day entry to mainland China visa-free for most purposes.