Singaporeans’ travel spend shift to Asia for snow and healthcare

They’re traveling to Thailand and South Korea for medical services.

Singaporeans spent more in-person while travelling across Asia, according to data from Visa.

Singaporeans’ top five travel destinations in December, based on card spending, are all Asian countries. This bucked past trends where December was usually the peak season for long-haul travel to other continents, Visa said.

Face-to-face card spend rose 18% year-on-year (YoY) for Singaporeans who travelled to Malaysia in December, the study found. Kuala Lumpur saw a 31% YoY growth in card spend, whilst travellers to Johor Bahru spent 17% more respectively.

Card spending related to Japan travel rose slower at 5% YoY, although winter destinations like Hokkaido and Nagano posted double-digit growths in cardholder spending. Singaporeans’ cards spend in Hokkaido rose by 28% YoY whilst card spending in Nagano rose 26% YoY.

This shows demand for snow and winter activities, especially amongst affluent travellers where Japan remained their top destination in December, Visa found.

Thailand, South Korea, and China remained key travel destinations for Singaporeans.

Medical services were the top spend of Singaporean residents heading to Thailand and South Korea.

In Thailand, face-to-face card spend rose by over 28% YoY for healthcare.

Healthcare was also the leading spend category for Singaporeans going to South Korea, driving nearly 90% YoY growth.

Singaporeans’ card spending in China rose nearly 80% YoY, driven by spending in accommodation, retail goods, and department stores.

Shenzhen and Chengdu are seeing growing popularity amongst Singaporeans, with faster growth in tourist spending than in Beijing and Shanghai, according to Visa.

France, the United Kingdom, and the US slipped in ranking as preferred destinations, ranking 7th, 8th, and 11th, respectively.

France is the only travel corridor to post positive growth in spend, up 12% YoY.