As tourism receipts climb, S’pore venues aim to draw early-career adults, MICE travellers

SINGAPORE – With Singapore’s push for quality tourism paying off handsomely so far and hitting record tourism spending figures, some businesses are getting in on the act by refreshing or rebuilding their venues to draw high-spending travellers.

Both smaller, independent venues, such as the Jigger & Pony Group’s newest bars, and large-scale ones, like rooftop restaurant and bar Ce La Vi, have been willing to invest large sums of money to invite this target demographic, which includes travellers in their early careers or those here for business.

MICE (meetings, incentives, conventions and exhibitions) organisers and attendees, families with children, those starting out or established in their careers, and active seniors have been identified by the Singapore Tourism Board (STB), which is leading the push towards quality tourism.

This longer-term tourism strategy – which prioritises drawing higher-spending visitors and growing economic value, rather than visitor volumes – is one that STB has pursued from as early as 2013 and has folded into its Tourism 2040 vision.

It has yielded results so far, with tourism spending for 2025 poised to outperform that of previous years even as visitor arrival numbers slowed.

STB announced in a February update that tourism receipts are on track to surpass its $29 billion to $30.5 billion full-year forecast for 2025, and exceed $29.8 billion in takings in 2024.

Numbers have been so promising that the statutory board projected even higher yields for 2026 of between $31 billion and $32.5 billion in tourism receipts – which would be a new record.

Hoping to draw young spenders are Jigger & Pony Group’s latest ventures – cocktail bars Bartenders of Pony, or BOP, in Tanjong Pagar, and Pop City in Cecil Street – which both opened within the last year.

While BOP is a brand-new venue, Pop City took over the space formerly occupied by the group’s rum-focused cocktail bar Sugarhall, which shuttered in July 2025.

The 65-seat BOP offers signature cocktails – costing no more than $23 – that ride on the popularity of South Korean pop culture and its drinking rituals, flavours and comfort foods.

This has attracted a post-work mix of locals and foreigners, who are noticeably younger than others at the group’s stable of seven high-end cocktail bars and restaurants.

This shift in target audience is deliberate, as the market has clearly evolved, said the group’s managing director Indra Kantono, who has been running bars in Singapore and Jakarta for the last decade.

The group pumped a seven-figure sum into the two projects.

The growing segment of those in their early careers also comes under Singapore’s largest visitor demographic of those aged 25 to 34 and 35 to 44.

According to STB, such travellers accounted for more than 40 per cent of the 16.9 million international arrivals here in 2025.

Made up of Gen Zs and millennials, they are the generation that travel the most, noted Ms Chiang Hai Yin, assistant chief executive for the corporate group at STB.

“(Singapore’s) dynamic lifestyle and entertainment experiences support (their) desire for authentic, engaging activities that allow active participation, from discovering new cultures and trying new activities, to enjoying our plethora of lifestyle options before and after attending A-list concerts,” she said.

Mr Kantono noted that while this younger clientele may not always have the spending power and may spend less in one visit, they return often.

“They grow with the brand, and over five to 10 years, that relationship matters a lot,” he said.

“They may not splurge, but they will spend on experiences that feel meaningful.”

The business traveller demographic is another group that firms here are eyeing with confidence in their bankability.

Located atop Marina Bay Sands, Ce La Vi, the 16-year-old restaurant, bar and lounge, has received more corporate bookings for events like cocktail receptions, business lunches and networking events as a result of an uptick in MICE events here.

In 2025, it pumped $11 million into a major revamp. This included reconfiguring its venue to be able to cater to this ever-growing demographic, some of them a spillover from the nearby Sands Expo & Convention Centre, which hosted more than 2,000 events and nearly 1.4 million delegates in 2025.

The private dining room grew in capacity from 14 to 28 seats, allowing it to host more board-level dinners, corporate presentations and VIP gatherings. Bars were repositioned in the venue’s Sky Bar so that service can be sped up during high-volume events.

Since the reopening of Ce La Vi in June 2025, there has been a 10 per cent increase in average spend per guest, with the increase particularly pronounced during peak MICE weeks, said its co-founder and group chief executive Harry Apostolides.

Ce La Vi’s relaunch coincided with a busy calendar of marquee events such as the Formula One (F1) Singapore Grand Prix, cryptocurrency conference Token2049, travel trade show ITB Asia and global conferences such as the Milken Institute Asia Summit.

During the F1 period in 2025, corporate clients accounted for as much as 60 per cent of Ce La Vi’s business during the week, contributing close to 7 per cent of its annual revenue target, said Mr Apostolides. In 2023 and 2024, corporate clients made up about 55 per cent of the business during the F1 week.

MICE travellers typically spend around twice as much as leisure visitors, according to STB. The global MICE market is also projected to double in value in the next decade, with the Asia-Pacific region being one of the fastest-growing markets, STB’s Ms Chiang noted.

In 2024, about 1.1 million MICE visitors to Singapore brought in $1.7 billion in tourism receipts. This was a jump from pre-pandemic figures, when 730,000 MICE visitors brought in $1.4 billion in tourism receipts in 2019.

The increase comes as the Republic made known in 2025 its aim to triple MICE receipts to $4.5 billion by 2040.

Experts said the strategy of banking on quality tourism has worked so far – with a lot of it contingent on the “distinctive and frictionless” experience that Singapore provides.

“What has worked is that Singapore has not tried to win on being the cheapest or the biggest – it has leaned into what it does best, which is providing reliability, safety, seamless connectivity, and a steady stream of ‘reasons to visit’ that feel worth paying for,” said Dr Natt Srinara, lecturer and consultant at EHL Hospitality Business School.

“When the experience is distinctive and frictionless, higher-spending travellers do not mind paying a premium.”

However, the bid to attract affluent tourists who can spend might in turn result in attractions, food and beverages being out of reach for regular Singaporeans.

“The risk is not just expensive restaurants, it is the second-order effects, like rental pressures in popular precincts and a gradual shift where certain districts feel like they are designed for visitors first,” said Dr Samer El Hajjar, senior lecturer in marketing at NUS Business School.

Both Dr Samer and Dr Natt agreed that if tourism receipts rely too heavily on premium segments, Singapore’s tourism resilience could also take a hit as these are more sensitive to global uncertainty and shocks, currency swings and corporate budget tightening.

That is why the goal should be balanced demand, not just affluent demand, said Dr Natt.

“A healthy mix of business events, regional short breaks, families, and premium leisure makes the system steadier. The best outcome is when locals can still enjoy the city, and tourism strengthens rather than distorts Singapore’s identity.”

This is something that operators like Jigger & Pony Group recognise. “Locals must always feel welcome and form the core audience that our bars cater to,” said Mr Kantono.

“For Singapore to be seen as culturally interesting, not just efficient, we need spaces that feel confident and distinctive. Tourists may first come for iconic monuments, but they will return because of the memories of human connections made.”