World Aquatics, Masters Championships expected to bring in 40,000 visitors, $60m in tourism receipts

SINGAPORE – The 2025 World Aquatics Championships and World Aquatics Masters Championships are expected to attract about 40,000 visitors to Singapore and generate an estimated $60 million in incremental tourism receipts when the events are held here from July to August.

Mr Eric Chua, Senior Parliamentary Secretary for Culture, Community and Youth, revealed the figures in his response to questions by Workers’ Party MP Gerald Giam (Aljunied GRC) in Parliament on Feb 27.

Mr Giam had asked the Ministry of Culture, Community and Youth (MCCY) for the estimated number of visitors for the July 11 to Aug 3 World Aquatics Championships, what methodology was used to deduce the estimate, and what was the projected total tourism revenue from visitors.

Mr Chua said that 40,000 visitors “is a conservative estimate and comprises spectators and other visitors such as athletes, officials, production crew and media”, and that the final tourism receipts generated “will be clearer after the event”.

He added that Singapore’s hosting of the event will not just provide opportunities for local athletes to compete against world-class competition, but also inspire greater interest and participation in aquatic sports to uncover the next generation of sporting talents.

In addition, up to 350,000 Singaporeans will get to participate in community activities such as the SG60 Swim Challenge that will be launched in April.

The 2025 World Aquatics Championships will feature six disciplines: swimming, water polo, diving, artistic swimming, open water swimming and high diving.

In July 2024, organisers announced that swimming and artistic swimming would be held at a temporary facility at the carpark next to Leisure Park Kallang mall. The water polo and diving events will be at OCBC Aquatic Centre, while Sentosa will host open water swimming (Palawan Beach) and high diving (Palawan Green).

The World Aquatics Masters Championships from July 26 to Aug 22 will feature about 6,000 athletes from around 100 countries competing across five disciplines.

The Straits Times had reported in July 2024 that the world championships is expected to cost the hosts approximately US$100 million (S$134 million) – a 41 per cent to 49 per cent increase from the preliminary planning budget of $90 million to $95 million, an estimate that did not fully factor in sponsorship fees.

On Feb 27, Mr Giam asked for the full cost of constructing and dismantling the temporary facility, as well as the outcomes of any feasibility studies into extending the use of the competition venue after the event.

Mr Chua said that the construction cost “is being finalised, but it is expected to be comparable to that of other host cities which build temporary facilities” such as at Doha 2024 and Fukuoka 2023.

He shared that the authorities are studying the possibility of using the temporary facility as a training and competition venue for other local and regional meets, as well as for athlete training and public use, with details to be shared at a later date.

ST had earlier reported that Singapore Aquatics could use the venue to prepare for competitions like the 2029 SEA Games held here, while the Toa Payoh Swimming Complex is being rebuilt.

Mr Chua added: “As host country, we aim to deliver a positive event experience for athletes and spectators alike, while being fiscally prudent and cost-effective.

“The organising committee has been careful to reduce costs where possible, while working hard to secure sponsorships for these events.”

In the past few months, the Pan Pacific Hotels Group, Trans-Eurokars Mazda, OCBC and Trip.com were unveiled as the event’s hotel, automobile, banking and travel partners respectively.

These sponsorships, along with more in the pipeline, will help to defray operation and logistics costs, and the organisers are “making good progress” towards their sponsorship targets, he added.