Visa-free policy helps travel surge to Singapore

Singapore Airlines said passenger demand on routes connecting Singapore and China has been growing steadily since the two countries introduced reciprocal visa-free policies early last year, and that the Chinese market had strong potential for significant growth in the years ahead.

Singapore saw more than 3 million visits from the Chinese mainland last year, according to Singapore Tourism Board. China has become the city-state's largest source of international tourists. During the carrier's financial year from April 2024 to March 2025, it transported more than 3.7 million passenger trips between Singapore and the Chinese mainland.

Chinese travelers have shown strong demand for trips to Singapore, with the country ranking among the top 10 most popular overseas destinations for the upcoming National Day holiday, based on hotel booking volumes, according to Qunar, a Beijing-based online travel agency.

"China stands as a top strategic priority of Singapore Airlines. Over the next 10 to 20 years, we aim to continuously expand our route network in China by adding more destinations," said Dai Haoyu, Singapore Airlines' senior vice-president of marketing planning.

This year marks the 40th anniversary of the carrier's first flight launch in the Chinese mainland in 1985.

The airline has since continued to increase the frequency of flights linking the two countries.

Currently, Singapore Airlines operates flights connecting Singapore with major Chinese mainland cities, which include Beijing, Shanghai, and Guangzhou and Shenzhen in Guangdong province.

"We have seen rising travel demand from Chinese mainland cities, especially second-tier cities such as Chengdu, Sichuan province. To meet this growing demand, we have switched from narrow-body aircraft to wide-body aircraft to operate the Chengdu route," Dai said.

He added that the number of travelers from Singapore, Malaysia and Indonesia to China has also been growing rapidly.

In addition, Singapore Airlines said it aims to further strengthen cooperation with domestic carriers in China. Currently, the airline has code-sharing agreements with Air China and Shenzhen Airlines to further increase the number of flight options for customers.

Additionally, the carrier plans to gradually upgrade its fleet of 41 A350 aircraft with enhanced cabin products, a move set to cost 1.1 billion Singapore dollars ($860 million).

Some of these upgraded jets will be deployed on Singapore-China routes.