More than 600,000 Indian visitors visited Singapore between January and June 2026, the Singapore Tourism Board confirmed this week, cementing India’s position as one of the city-state’s most consistently important source markets even as global travel demand faces sustained headwinds.
India’s contribution went beyond visitor numbers alone. The market generated S$374 million in tourism receipts during the first quarter of 2026, an 8% year-on-year increase and the highest growth rate recorded among all of Singapore’s source markets in that period.
“India’s consistent performance is particularly meaningful given the global headwinds the travel industry has had to navigate in recent times,” said Markus Tan, Singapore Tourism Board’s Regional Director for India, the Middle East, South Asia and Africa. “It is a testament to the strong relationships we have built with Indian travellers, our airline partners and the travel trade over the years.”
Where India sits within Singapore’s broader tourism picture
Singapore welcomed 8.19 million international visitors across all source markets in the first half of 2026. India’s contribution of over 600,000 visitors places it among the city-state’s most significant markets, alongside China, Indonesia and other major regional and long-haul source countries.
What is the Singapore Tourism Board, and how does it track indian visitors data?
What is the Singapore Tourism Board?
The Singapore Tourism Board, or STB, is the statutory board responsible for developing and promoting Singapore’s tourism sector. It compiles official visitor arrival and tourism receipt statistics for the city-state, working with airlines, hotels, travel agencies and destination marketing partners across Singapore’s key source markets. STB’s data on visitor arrivals and tourism receipts is considered the authoritative source for measuring Singapore’s tourism performance by country of origin, and forms the basis for the destination’s ongoing market-specific promotional strategy, including the current expanded push into the Indian market described in this article.
How Singapore is deepening its India strategy
Building on the momentum from this data, STB is strengthening its long-term strategy in India through a combination of travel and aviation partnerships, initiatives targeting the meetings, incentives, conferences and exhibitions sector, cruise tourism development, new destination experiences, and targeted consumer marketing campaigns.
A significant part of that strategy is already underway. STB has partnered with MakeMyTrip, India’s leading online travel platform, on a pan-India destination campaign running from July to November 2026, promoting Singapore hotel stays and holiday packages of four nights or longer. The campaign reaches consumers through MakeMyTrip’s premium BLACK membership tier, alongside a separate collaboration targeting HSBC Premier members through MakeMyTrip and HSBC India jointly. Beyond direct consumer marketing, the partnership also activates travel agents nationwide through MakeMyTrip’s business-to-business platform, myPartner, while STB is running a dedicated MICE roadshow in New Delhi and a leisure trade roadshow in Mumbai to strengthen its presence across both business and leisure travel segments in India.
Why Singapore remains a consistent draw for Indian travellers
Singapore’s enduring appeal to Indian travellers spans both leisure and business travel categories, driven by strong aviation connectivity through Changi Airport, established visa and entry processes, and a steady calendar of major attractions and events. Singapore’s 2026 calendar includes several developments expected to sustain visitor interest from India specifically, including expanded offerings at attractions such as Mandai’s Rainforest Wild, ongoing STB partnerships with Disney around family-oriented programming, and continued growth in cruise tourism through Singapore’s positioning as a homeport for major international cruise lines.
For context on the scale of the broader Indian community connection to Singapore, separate reporting earlier in 2026 recorded that the resident Indian population in Singapore, distinct from visitor arrivals, reached approximately 1.2 million, reflecting decades of deepening India-Singapore ties across trade, education and permanent settlement, alongside the tourism relationship this latest data specifically measures.
What this means for Indian travellers considering Singapore
For Indian families in Australia, the UK, the UAE, the US, Canada and New Zealand who may route through or specifically choose Singapore as a travel destination, whether for a standalone holiday, a stopover, or business travel, the current environment is one of active destination investment. STB’s expanded partnerships with Indian travel platforms and airlines, combined with the MakeMyTrip and HSBC Premier campaign running through November 2026, suggest travellers booking through those channels in the coming months may encounter targeted promotional packages specifically designed around Singapore stays of four nights or more.
What Indian travellers are asking about Singapore in 2026
Is Singapore currently running any specific promotions for Indian travellers?
Yes. The Singapore Tourism Board has partnered with MakeMyTrip on a pan-India destination campaign running from July to November 2026, promoting Singapore hotel stays and holiday packages of four nights or more, with a parallel offering for HSBC Premier members through a joint MakeMyTrip and HSBC India collaboration.
How does India’s tourism performance compare to Singapore’s other major source markets?
India recorded the highest tourism receipts growth rate, at 8% year-on-year, of any Singapore source market in Q1 2026, generating S$374 million. China remains Singapore’s largest source market by overall visitor volume, with India and Indonesia among the other most significant contributors to the 8.19 million total visitors Singapore recorded in the first half of 2026.
Is there a difference between Indian visitor numbers and the resident Indian population in Singapore?
Yes, these are separate figures measuring different things. The 600,000-plus figure in this report refers specifically to visitor arrivals from India during January-June 2026. Separately, Singapore’s resident Indian population, comprising permanent residents and citizens of Indian origin, was reported earlier in 2026 to have reached approximately 1.2 million, a distinct, long-term demographic figure unrelated to tourist visitor counts.
What kind of MICE and business travel initiatives is Singapore developing for the Indian market?
STB has confirmed it is strengthening its MICE, meetings, incentives, conferences and exhibitions, strategy in India, including a dedicated roadshow in New Delhi, alongside a separate leisure trade roadshow in Mumbai, as part of its broader push to grow both business and leisure segments from the Indian market.
