Changi Airport's passenger movements in February beat pre-COVID levels for the first time

SINGAPORE: Singapore's Changi Airport saw passenger movements surpass pre-pandemic levels for the first time last month, according to figures from Changi Airport Group (CAG) released on Wednesday (Mar 13).

The airport recorded 5.35 million arrivals, departures and transits, which is 4 per cent more compared with the same period in 2019.

The travel industry said the draw is Singapore's ability to organise unique events for visitors.

BETTER BUSINESS FOR INDUSTRY

Changi Airport's busiest day in February was on the 18th, in the middle of the Chinese New Year period, with about 203,000 passenger movements.

This was just before the Singapore Airshow, which drew a record turnout of nearly 60,000 trade visitors.

Tour guides told CNA that it has been hectic.

“So far, I seem to be getting a lot of business spouses - that means spouses accompanying businessmen who are here for the MICE (meetings, incentives, conferences, and exhibitions) events,” said Jane's Singapore Tours heritage guide Shanti Bhattacharya. 

“They are coming and they are doing tours like ethnic quarters, and tours like black and white houses, Peranakan shop houses. But I think one of the tours that I see the most is a demand for food tours.”

Singapore welcomed around 1.44 million travellers in February, with 326,970 of them coming from China, according to the Singapore Tourism Board. 

China, one of Singapore's key markets, is seeing signs of recovery, after Singapore and China agreed to a 30-day mutual visa-free entry for their citizens.

Travel company Trip.com, for instance, marked a 60 per cent on-month increase in bookings from China in February.

EVENTS CALENDAR “FAIRLY STRONG”

Tourism consultant and MasterConsult Services managing director Christopher Khoo said: “I think tourism, in general, into Singapore has continued its recovery from COVID, and so the numbers are coming through. And our major markets are coming in very strong.”

He hopes to see the general strong numbers sustained through the whole year.

For the whole of 2023, Changi Airport registered 58.9 million passengers. This is lower than the 68.3 million passenger movements in 2019, before COVID-19 hit.

“I think our business events calendar is fairly strong. We're not a one-trick pony,” he said, adding that this month's visitor numbers will likely be boosted by people who flew in for pop star Taylor Swift's six concerts. 

“We're talking about Formula 1, we're talking about different exhibitions throughout the year. 

“These are scattered throughout the year and kind of give a reason for people to want to try and visit Singapore. Things like shopping, the gourmet festival and things like that are other events that bring people in for very specialised reasons.”