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Advisory on COVID-19 for Travellers and Tourism Businesses

13 February 2023

General Advisory for Travellers

1. Singapore is open to all travellers without quarantine. This includes non-fully vaccinated travellers. Covid-19 pre-departure tests are not required. More details are available  here. 2. Depending on the destination you are travelling from, mask-wearing aboard flights and ferries to Singapore may be required. Travellers are advised to check with the respective transport operator on the mask-wearing requirement prior to their trip.

3. Singapore has stepped down all COVID-19 measures and mask wearing is not required except in healthcare settings. However, do practise good personal hygiene and wear a mask if you are unwell.

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Singapore Travel Restrictions

Traveler's COVID-19 vaccination status

Traveling from the United States to Singapore

Open for vaccinated visitors

COVID-19 testing

Not required

Not required for vaccinated visitors

Restaurants

Not required in public spaces.

Singapore entry details and exceptions

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Can I travel to Singapore from the United States?

Most visitors from the United States, regardless of vaccination status, can enter Singapore.

Can I travel to Singapore if I am vaccinated?

Fully vaccinated visitors from the United States can enter Singapore without restrictions.

Can I travel to Singapore without being vaccinated?

Unvaccinated visitors from the United States can enter Singapore without restrictions.

Do I need a COVID test to enter Singapore?

Visitors from the United States are not required to present a negative COVID-19 PCR test or antigen result upon entering Singapore.

Can I travel to Singapore without quarantine?

Travelers from the United States are not required to quarantine.

Do I need to wear a mask in Singapore?

Mask usage in Singapore is not required in public spaces.

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Restaurants in Singapore are open. Bars in Singapore are .

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Follow our news, recent searches, commentary: will easing covid-19 restrictions bring tourists back to singapore, advertisement.

Changes in domestic measures are welcome, but the remaining ones may hold back Singapore’s tourism industry from getting ahead before competitors re-establish themselves, says business and travel journalist Raini Hamdi.

A traveller is seen at Changi Airport in Singapore. (File photo: AFP/Roslan Rahman)

Raini Hamdi

SINGAPORE: Nine months after the Government charted a road map towards living with COVID-19 in Singapore, the biggest easing of restrictions  announced by Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong on Thursday (Mar 24), seemed a long time coming for most.

We rejoiced at “small big things”: From Mar 29, we can be outdoors without masks , gather and dine in groups of 10 people, enjoy live music and drink past 10.30pm at our favourite haunts. And simplified travel rules are generating real excitement in the air about the prospect of hassle-free travelling once more. 

But the news seemed somewhat anti-climactic to Singapore's travel industry. “This is hardly a bold move,” Mr Arthur Kiong, CEO of Far East Hospitality Management told me. 

There’s a sense that Singapore could afford to do so much more, especially when neighbouring Cambodia has led the way in removing all travel restrictions. Domestic restrictions have also been removed, according to Phnom Penh-based tour operator, Jacques Guichandut, who is also the managing director of All Dreams Cambodia.

Australia is lifting the pre-departure test on Apr 18, although some states may insist on on-arrival testing.

Farther away, since early February, several European and Nordic countries have followed Denmark's lead in scrapping most travel and other domestic restrictions, such as mandatory masks and vaccine certificates to enter restaurants.

Here’s how Singapore’s COVID-19 measures will change from Mar 29

Commentary: Not all of us will be so quick to ditch masks completely

Commentary: How is Cambodia last to lock down yet among first few to reopen in Southeast Asia?

“If we were to expect inbound leisure travellers, restrictions here cannot be stricter than those of other countries which have eased them”, said Mr Kiong. After all, who would want to go on a holiday with more restrictions than at home?

The bold move would be to remove all local restrictions. It's what Switzerland is doing , despite cases soaring by an average of about 17,000 new infections a day. Its Interior Minister Alain Berset said that such hikes were to be expected but there was no cause for alarm as hospitals could cope.  The country lifted most measures on Feb 17, save for two – masks in public transport and five-day isolation for COVID-19 patients. These, too, will go at the end of March. 

The conditions are ripe for this in Singapore: The Omicron wave is “subsiding”. There is strong immunity in the population, with an “overwhelming majority” fully vaccinated or have received their booster, and those who have recovered after infection. " Crucially, the healthcare system remains resilient ", said Mr Lee when announcing the changes.

Remaining restrictions – such as a pre-departure test (although under review), mandatory masks indoors and safe distancing in mask-off settings – may take away Singapore’s opportunity to overtake Thailand and Hong Kong as Asia’s tourism and financial hub.

WILL TOURISTS COME FOR FORMULA 1 AND OTHER EVENTS?

Take the HSBC Singapore Rugby Sevens, for example. On Mar 26, barely two weeks to the event, tickets still had not gone on sale, leaving thousands of fans on tenterhooks. Its official Facebook page says that it is “working with the authorities to deliver the best experience come April”.

But fans aren’t sure if they will get the most out of this typically rumbustious event. One fan commented that the Sevens was one of their favourite events of the year, with “lots of drinking, cheering along with our friend, dressing up and having a great time”, but questioned how the new rules would apply,  wondering if it will be “mask on, no food or drink, seated far away from friends”.

Another said that tickets were taking so long to be announced that his wife took matters into her own hands and booked a five-night stay in Kota Kinabalu instead.

As the forerunner of the Singapore Formula 1 Grand Prix in September, the Sevens is the showcase of how Singapore plans to host large-scale events that are crucial for bringing back foreign visitors to the city . 

Commentary: Southeast Asia should be trying to attract more regional tourists

Commentary: Why Singapore is still an attractive tourist destination for Indonesians

My friend, Mr Henry Widler, is an F1 aficionado who aims to visit 15 F1 races this year. Singapore is on his list but he’s watching restrictions closely.

“Restrictions could be a factor for me to skip the Singapore event. I attended the races in France and Italy in 2021, where the only requirement was to show an antigen test. This was when the COVID-19 situation was much more serious. Masks were not compulsory and I'm not aware of any outbreak after the races,” said Mr Widler.

He said that ideally, F1 conditions should be clear “a couple of months ahead” for visitors from Europe and the Americas who want to secure air tickets and hotel bookings well in advance, instead of shelling out more for last-minute bookings.

“I cannot understand how a progressive nation like Singapore could be one of the last ones to lift restrictions,” said Mr Widler.

As for indoor events, Mr Robert Hecker, managing director Pacific Asia, Horwath HTL, a hotel consultancy, believes that indoor mask requirements will remain through the year unless COVID-19 cases drop to low levels. It is the “main deterrent” for networking-focused events like HICAP, he said, referring to the Hotel Investment Conference Asia-Pacific slated to be held in Singapore this October, after it was cancelled last year.

Commentary: Travel will return with a vengeance as more recover from Omicron

Commentary: Why I’ll keep making plans to travel even if it means having to cancel them

For events and leisure tourists to return, it's not just a matter of ease of entry. Life must return to normal.

TOURISM INDUSTRY’S TEMPERED EXPECTATIONS

While they appreciated the new measures, Singapore’s hoteliers and analysts are not counting on a deluge of tourists.

China, the biggest market for Singapore, is not expected to open this year. Japan isn't likely to rebound quickly either. There will be fierce competition over other major markets like India, by destinations such as Thailand, which also foresees a dip in Russian tourists.

“It's hard to foresee that as we open up more, the gates will be flooded instantly", said Mr Jesper Palmqvist, the Asia-Pacific director of STR, a hotel data intelligence provider.

Singapore hotels are bracing themselves for business to get worse before it gets better. 

Far East Hospitality Management’s Mr Kiong expects “turmoil” and the risk of a price war as room inventory floods back into the market due to the end of government quarantine contracts. 

“This equates to about 30 to 40 per cent of hotels going from full occupancy to zero occupancy overnight,” said Mr Kiong. “There will be a period of turmoil as the market adjusts itself. Discounting to fill rooms will risk starting a price war. Cooler heads must prevail – we need to win market share by offering superior value, not price undercutting.”

On top of losing the “generous safety net” provided by authorities, Singapore hotels are likely to see a shrinking staycation market, STR’s Mr Palmqvist said. “Domestic business, which has pricing power and boosts weekend occupancies, has held up surprisingly well for a long time but arguably, many Singaporeans will now be keen to visit other Southeast Asian destinations which have opened up,” he said. 

He expects any real, sustained and stable demand for Singapore hotels only in the third quarter.

Commentary: Will Omicron trigger restrictions in Singapore and set back plans to live normally with COVID-19?

Commentary: Travellers and tourism providers frustrated after countries ‘overreacted’ to Omicron

Fears of another “overreaction” to new variants.

Ending restrictions is by no means a victory over COVID-19. By now, no one expects it to go away once and for all.

Already lurking in the air is the new variant, Deltacron , a cross between Delta and Omicron – the two variants responsible for major global surges. Little is still known about its transmissibility, severity and ability to evade immunity, and we don’t know when other variants will emerge.

Will governments be quick to bring back restrictions whenever a new variant emerges, as they did with Omicron?

Mr Kiong thinks not. “We need to live with COVID-19 and move forward. If not, the economic consequence of prevention is worse than the disease itself”, he said.

Andrew Tran Nam Hung, senior project manager at Bullish, a digital exchange, summed up the feeling most people probably have.

“There may be a spike in cases, but who cares. We are too tired already. Hopefully, with this move, Singapore will be the shining jewel in the East once again."

Raini Hamdi is a Singapore-based business journalist who writes on hospitality, travel and tourism in Asia. She is Pacific Asia Travel Association Journalist of the Year and has authored two books on hospitality.

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Singapore’s growth trajectory remains intact on improving exports, tourism boost: MAS

SINGAPORE – The Singapore economy is on track for faster growth in 2024, aided by resilient global demand for its exports and above-trend growth in tourism-related industries, the central bank said on April 26.

The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) maintained its estimate of 1 per cent to 3 per cent GDP growth in 2024, made in November, after the 1.1 per cent expansion in 2023. The main clusters of the economy are converging towards their pre-pandemic growth rates, it said.

“Growth in the trade-related and modern services clusters are expected to improve from last year, while that in the travel-related and domestic-oriented clusters will continue to moderate but stay above trend,” it said in its latest twice-yearly macroeconomic review.

The trade-related sector includes manufacturing and wholesale trade, while the modern services cluster is made up of financial, professional, information technology and media services companies.

The economy will be propelled by the ongoing recovery in the global electronics industry and the expected peaking of interest rates worldwide, said MAS.

Its optimism over Singapore’s outlook follows the International Monetary Fund’s April 16 upgrade of its 2024 global growth forecast to 3.2 per cent, from the 3.1 per cent projection in January 2024 and 2.9 per cent in October 2023.

MAS estimates that the global economy will expand by 3 per cent in 2024, slightly lower than the 3.3 per cent recorded in 2023, as the impact of past interest rate hikes and less supportive fiscal policy in most economies continues to exert a restraining effect on growth.

“Still, the global economy is likely to emerge unscathed in 2024 from the tightening of financial conditions, with economic growth set to become gradually more broad-based over the year,” MAS said. It added that global growth is set to improve to 3.3 per cent in 2025 as central banks start to cut interest rates.

The World Trade Organisation forecasts global merchandise trade to expand by 3.3 per cent in 2024, up from 0.8 per cent in 2023. In tandem, Enterprise Singapore expects the Republic’s non-oil domestic exports to increase by 4 per cent to 6 per cent in 2024 – a turnaround from the 13.1 per cent contraction in 2023.

While manufacturing activity slowed in the first quarter of 2024, MAS said the sector should continue to benefit from the ongoing global recovery in demand for electronic goods, especially for memory chips – a type of semiconductor that stores data.

Meanwhile, major central banks are unlikely to further tighten their monetary policies after having raised interest rates aggressively in the past two years to fight inflation. The benign policy-rate outlook should bolster financial sector activity here, MAS said.

Separate data released later on April 26 showed Singapore’s manufacturing output shrank 9.2 per cent year on year in March. For the first quarter of 2024, manufacturing contracted 1.8 per cent from a year ago, reversing from the 1.8 per cent expansion in the previous quarter.

MAS, in its briefing, said the pullback in electronics output was likely because of some short-term fluctuations in output of the crucial semiconductor segment as the underlying improvement in the global tech cycle remains broadly intact.

Nonetheless, Singapore’s short-term prospects will be underpinned by the upturn in the global tech cycle, and the expected start of the reversal of global monetary policy tightening, said MAS.

The modern services cluster also contracted in the January to March period, led by weaker performances across finance and insurance, professional services, and information and communications.

MAS said growth in the tourism-related industries should taper from the first-quarter boost from an unprecedented line-up of large-scale concerts.

Singapore experienced a surge in tourism activity as concerts held by internationally renowned artists Coldplay in January and Taylor Swift in March drew more than half the audience from abroad.

International visitor arrivals rose by 26 per cent in the first quarter from the previous three months and were up a significant 50 per cent compared with the same period in 2023.

Private sector analysts have estimated the tourism receipts generated by the concerts in Singapore ranged from $350 million to $450 million, depending on the assumptions made, such as the proportion of foreign visitors among the concertgoers and the length of stay in Singapore. But the concert bonanza is unlikely to be sustained through the rest of 2024.

Still, tourism-related growth will be underpinned by upcoming events of a smaller scale, as well as the continued recovery of Chinese tourist arrivals following the removal of remaining travel frictions, MAS noted.

The global economy has been surprisingly resilient, despite significant central bank interest rate hikes to restore price stability. However, the pace of disinflation in Singapore’s major trading partners, especially the advanced economies, has slowed after significant progress last year.

MAS warned that a delayed and slower pace of monetary easing in advanced economies could trigger latent financial vulnerabilities and consequently weigh on growth. Additionally, geopolitical risks or extreme weather events could result in supply-driven price hikes of goods and commodities.

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