Singapore Tourism Projects 18.5 Million Visitors for 2025

The Singapore Tourism Board said it expects Singapore to see between 17 million and 18.5 million visitor arrivals in 2025, generating S$29 billion to S$30.5 billion in tourism receipts. 2024 wound up with 16.5 million visitor arrivals. Tourism receipts are only confirmed for the first nine months of 2024 and were at S$22.4 billion. In the first nine months of last year, Sightseeing, Entertainment & Gaming revenue rose 25%, followed by Accommodations, up 17%. Mainland China was the top market for visitor arrivals with 3.08 million, generating tourism receipts of S$3.58 billion, followed by Indonesia with 2.49 million arrivals and S$2.13 billion in receipts. The STB believes when 2024 results are tallied, they will hit an all time high in tourism spending, surpassing the pre-pandemic high of S$27.7 billion.

The Maldives recorded a surge in tourist arrivals to start this year. The Ministry of Tourism and Environment said the number of international visitors reached 214,000 in January, up 12% compared to January 2024. On a daily basis, an average of 6,900 tourists arrived in January and updated figures show that as of early February, 233,000 visitors have entered the Maldives, pushing the average daily arrivals to 7,000. That is up 14% from the same period in 2024 with officials saying this highlights the ongoing global demand for Maldivian resorts, luxury stays, and island experiences. China has been the largest source market so far in 2025, contributing approximately 40,000 tourists. This follows the easing of travel restrictions and increasing flight connectivity between China and the Maldives. Russia emerged as the second largest source market, with 23,000 Russian tourists arriving the first few weeks of the year with Italy close behind at 22,000. The Maldives saw 2 million tourists in 2024 and is targeting 2.2 million arrivals this year.

Macau officials said a total of 1,309,595 visitors arrived during this year's eight-day Chinese New Year Golden Week. That is a decline of around -3% versus the 2024 Golden Week. The biggest impact was the start on Tuesday, with that day only having 78,968 arrivals, down -34.9% from the first day in 2024, which was on a Friday. Even with two post-pandemic highest single-day visitor numbers being recorded during the week, it could not overcome that slow start. The new post-pandemic record is now 219,092 daily arrivals, recorded last Friday.

Hotel101 Global Pte Ltd and JVSPAC Acquisition Corp announced the submission of a confidential draft Registration Statement on Form F-4 to the United States Securities and Exchange Commission. Hotel101 is merging into the US SPAC, trying to get listed in the US with a proposed equity value of over US$2.3 billion, with the close of the merger combination expected in the first half of 2025. Hotel101 is the hotel subsidiary of the Philippine-listed DoubleDragon Corporation. The Nasdaq symbol proposed for Hotel101 is HBNB. While Hotel101 is mostly operating its platform in the Philippines, they started construction in Madrid on the Hotel 101-Madrid in the Valdebebas area beside the IFEMA Convention Complex.

In India, the IPO of Brigade Hotel Ventures, the hotels subsidiary fully owned by Bangalore/Bengaluru-based Brigade Enterprises, was approved by the Securities & Exchange Board of India. They hope to raise 9 billion Indian rupees (US$103.3 million). US$55 million would be used to offset debt and US$12 million would be earmarked to acquire an undivided share of land from Brigade Enterprises, according to The Hindu Business Line report on this. Brigade Hotel Ventures has nine standalone hotels in operation, with some of its clubs and convention centers also including a handful of guestrooms. They have six hotels in the development pipeline. Their latest hotel is a joint venture with Accor, the 130-room ibis Styles Mysuru which opened in August. Brigade Hotel Ventures also owns two convention centers in Bangalore, the MLR Convention Center Jayaprakash Nagar which has 12 guestrooms, and the MLR Whitfield.

Hilton announced the signing of its first DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel in Bhopal, the capital city of Madhya Pradesh, an economic hub in Central India. The hotel is being developed in collaboration with Sage Group and is expected to open in 2027. The DoubleTree by Hilton Bhopal is expected to cater to both business and leisure travelers. It will feature 229 rooms, making the hotel the largest in the city. There will be three restaurants and bars, including an all-day dining restaurant, specialty restaurant and a Lobby Lounge. The hotel will have 21,000 square feet of event space, including an 8,000-square-foot ballroom. Hilton has a portfolio of 56 trading and pipeline hotels in South Asia.

Chalet Hotels is rebranding their Courtyard by Marriott Aravali Resort near Delhi in India into a Marriott property. The hotel opened in June of 2022. The rebranding and change to the more upscale Marriott brand will take place over the next half a year.

OYO Hotels & Homes is planning to invest £50 million into the UK. Skift reported that OYO will focus primarily on premium hotels over the next three years. OYO said they are in advanced discussions with several large hotel chains and real estate companies. Last year OYO announced plans to open 40 new hotels in the UK. They plan to introduce several of their European brands to the UK market. 

Personnel Moves

Alexander Yeung Ching Loong, son of Emperor Group founder Albert Yeung, has been appointed as Executive Director and Vice Chairman of the Board of Group subsidiary Emperor E Hotel Ltd, the operator of Macau's Grand Emperor Hotel and its satellite casino. The younger Yeung has also been appointed Chairman of the Executive Committee. This follows the retirement of Wong Chin Fai as an Executive Director. Vanessa Fan Man Seung has also resigned as Chairperson of the Executive Committee but plans to remain as a member. The 38-year-old Yeung is already Executive Director and Vice Chairman of the Board of the parent company, Emperor International Holdings Limited, as well as being Chairman and Executive Director of group companies Emperor Culture Group Limited and Ulferts International Limited. Emperor E owns and operates a number of hotels in Hong Kong.