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February 12, 2025 | 07:00 am
TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Indonesian tourists visiting Singapore in 2024 reached 2.49 million visitors. Indonesia is the second largest contributor of tourists globally and the largest in Southeast Asia. This number increased by 8 percent from 2.3 million visitors in 2023.
Meanwhile, the number of tourists visiting Singapore in 2024 as a whole reached 16.7 million. There was an increase of 21 percent from 2023.
Area Director, Singapore Tourism Board Indonesia or STB Mohamed Hafez Marican, said there are two main reasons why Indonesian tourists visit Singapore, namely for shopping and culinary tourism. However, uniquely, Indonesian tourists do not only shop in famous areas such as Orchard Road.
According to Mohamed Hafez, Indonesian tourists like to hunt in other areas, such as Jurong in the west and Changi City Point, in the eastern part of Singapore. Especially to look for sneakers that are relatively cheaper. "They want to find cheap sneakers, even for me as a Singaporean this is something new," he said during the STB Year-in-Review 2024 presentation in Jakarta, Tuesday, February 11, 2025.
In addition to shopping, another reason Indonesian tourists vacation in Singapore is culinary tourism. Singapore offers a variety of culinary delights, not only the famous Hainanese chicken rice or laksa, including halal food. Mohammad Hafez said that not many people know that there are around 6,000 halal food outlets in Singapore. "When they go to Singapore, they only go to Kampong Gelam," he said.
With such a large number of outlets, Indonesian tourists, especially Muslims, can find halal food easily. He also encouraged Indonesian tourists to look for other foods to explore other areas of Singapore.
Meanwhile, for tourist visits to Singapore in 2025, STB does not have a specific target. However, according to Mohammed Hafiz, STB wants to provide more of the best experiences for tourists. Including improving connectivity from other cities in Indonesia besides Padang, West Sumatra and Kertajati in West Java.
STB's focus this year is also to reach new tourist segments, such as the sports community. Moreover, the sporting events held in Singapore attract quite a lot of tourists from Indonesia. In addition, it strengthens Singapore's position as a Muslim-friendly destination.
This year, there are several new attractions offered by Singapore. Such as Illumination's Minion Land at Universal Studios Singapore which opens on February 14, 2025, the innovative Singapore Oceanarium, and the Disney Adventure cruise ship from Disney Cruise Line which will start sailing on December 15, 2025. Meanwhile, several events that will be held in Singapore include Anime Festival Asia 2025, SneakerCon SEA 2025, LIV Golf Singapore 2025, Standard Chartered Singapore Marathon 2025, Kita Food Festival, World Sleep 2025 and others.
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