SINGAPORE: Chinese tourists – courted by some for their holiday cash – are returning to Singapore, but gone are the large tour parties in licensed cars.
Instead, many visitors are now traveling in smaller groups and prefer free and simple options, according to industry experts.  ,
Additionally, they are asking for cultural encounters and choosing the less traveled route.
” As they are not first-timers in Singapore anymore … They are looking for new experiences. No more Universal Studios, but perhaps a tour to the heartlands, seeing the life of a local Singaporean”, said CEO of Oriental Travel &, Tours Stanley Foo.
He added that tours to lesser-known locations like Pulau Ubin and Kusu Island are other more recent options on offer by his agency.  ,
Chinese visitors are increasingly opting for shorter and more personalized tours, according to Mr. Wyman Poon, honorary secretary at the Society of Tourist Guides Singapore, who was inspired by others ‘ experiences sharing their experiences on social media platforms like Xiaohongshu, Rednote, or Little Red Book.
With about 2.9 million tourists in the first 11 months of last year, China overtook Indonesia as Singapore’s top source of visitors. The figure was 3.35 million over the same period in 2019, before COVID-19 struck.  ,
While their numbers are not up to pre-pandemic times, they stayed for longer here on average last year – 3.8 days, up from 3.04 days in 2019.