6.6 million of global international arrivals came from Singapore in 2018: report

Singaporean travellers contributed $8.43b to total travel expenditure worldwide.

Singapore comprised 6.6 million, or 1% of the total overnight international arrivals across 200 cities in 2018, according to Mastercard's Global Destination Cities Index (GDCI): Origins report. Expenses from the city’s travellers totalled $8.43b (US$6.1b), comprising 1.1% of the overall total.

Also read: Singaporeans spend about US$1,462 per trip

This placed Singapore 21st in terms of number of travellers that arrived from the city.

Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia received the most number of business and leisure travellers from Singapore, followed by Bangkok, Thailand and Hong Kong. This translated into a total of 2.4 million overnight arrivals and total expenditure well above $2.76b (US$2b).

Mastercard Singapore country manager Deborah Heng commented, "Singapore’s prime location acts as a gateway to many destinations in Asia, offering travellers countless adventures only a ferry ride or short flight away – from exploring the magnificent limestone Batu Caves in Kuala Lumpur to going on a shopping-spree in Bangkok’s multiple shopping districts.”

Singapore was also the most popular destination from Indonesia and Malaysia, and the second most popular from Australia and India.

GDCI, to be released later this year, ranked 200 cities based on publicly reported information from third-party sources. Origins, its new breakout report, is based on the total number of international overnight visitor arrivals from any modes of travel in 2018, as well as their cross-border spending in these cities.