Visa, a global leader in digital payments and the Singapore Tourism Board (STB) have signed a three-year Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to strengthen Singapore’s appeal as a preferred travel destination and to unlock new growth opportunities.
The collaboration will focus on three key pillars – driving discovery of Singapore’s tourism products, especially its dining and night-time experiences; deriving insights to identify high-value tourism opportunities; and developing co-branded marketing campaigns to build brand preference for both Visa and Singapore.
Visa also announced that Singapore will be part of Visa Destinations, and the collaboration will leverage Visa Destinations as a platform to introduce strategic partnerships, flagship initiatives and experiences across Singapore’s tourism precincts and high-yield traveller segments.
Visa Destinations is a global travel programme designed to elevate how travellers discover and experience the world’s most iconic destinations. Singapore is the second country to launch Visa Destinations in Asia Pacific, following Thailand which was introduced in July this year. Other cities include London, New York, and Paris, reinforcing the city’s position as a leading travel hub. The programme will commence in Singapore in November this year.
Curating distinctively local experiences to inspire discovery of Singapore
The first pillar of collaboration will focus on benefits and experiences for travellers across tourism industries including attractions, dining, entertainment, retail and tours, which are key categories of spend.
Visa’s data shows that shopping and dining are significant contributors to traveller spend. This reinforces the importance of curating meaningful experiences that give travellers compelling reasons to return to Singapore, particularly as repeat visitors spend approximately four times more than first-time visitors[1]. Visa’s spend trend data and insights can sharpen the understanding of visitor segments, source markets and experiences with the greatest potential to drive higher-value demand, deeper exploration and repeat travel.
Visa and STB will also work closely to curate offers that showcase local businesses across tourism precincts, including building on an existing partnership with Pelago by Singapore Airlines to promote attractions and tours, supported by seamless, secure payment experiences throughout the visitor journey. These include introducing benefits and experience packages for Visa cardholders globally through the Visa Destinations platform at key attractions in Singapore.
The partnership will also spotlight Singapore’s vibrant night-time experiences, with both parties collaborating to drive demand, including building on an existing collaboration with Grab. Singapore’s night-time dynamism is a compelling part of its destination appeal, with flagship events such as the Singapore Grand Prix creating opportunities for visitors to experience the city after dark. The latest data from Visa indicated that during the F1™[2] Singapore Night Race 2026 race week, there was uplift in spend on restaurant and entertainment categories by two-thirds. Spending grew throughout the day, where evening spend climbed by almost half between 7pm and 11pm, and nearly doubled between 11pm and 5am[3].
Harnessing insights and targeted campaigns to drive high-value tourism
The second pillar will focus on harnessing tourism insights to identify high-value tourism opportunities through rich insights from Visa’s global network of cardholder data and analytics capabilities.
Visa data shows that some of the largest inbound travel corridors to Singapore amongst Visa cardholders include Australia, Indonesia, Mainland China, Malaysia and the United States[4]. This aligns with STB’s visitor arrival data, where these markets are among the largest source markets of visitors to Singapore. As there are common markets of interest, pooling available market data will allow both parties to develop a deeper understanding of visitor behaviour and preferences, tailor more targeted initiatives in response, and ensure efforts are focused on markets and segments with the highest potential for high-value tourism growth.
The third pillar of cooperation will see Visa and STB develop co-branded marketing campaigns anchored on the brand strengths of Visa Destinations and STB’s Passion Made Possible. The partners will roll out initiatives across key source markets, supported by destination-led storytelling, co-marketing activities and in-destination activations. These efforts will combine tailored travel content with exclusive access and experiences for Visa cardholders, building on the success of past campaigns such as Visa-STB-Pelago’s ‘Seasons. Made in Singapore’ and ‘Non-stop Fun’ which built on STB’s ‘Made in Singapore’ and ‘We Don’t Wait For Fun’ campaigns.
“Singapore is already a world-class destination with strong global appeal. Our partnership with the Singapore Tourism Board is about converting that appeal into deeper engagement, bringing together STB’s destination expertise with Visa’s global network, travel insights and partnerships to inspire more international travellers to visit and return,” said Adeline Kim, Group Country Manager, Regional Southeast Asia, & SVP, Global Clients, Asia Pacific, Visa. “Visa Destinations will help turn inspiration into action by connecting our cardholders with benefits, exclusive access and distinctive experiences across attractions, dining, entertainment, retail and tours. Together, we can make every stage of the journey more rewarding and seamless, while helping visitors discover more of Singapore and supporting the country’s ambition for high-value tourism growth,” she added.
"As travellers today increasingly seek more personalised and distinctive experiences, Singapore continues to evolve to inspire new discoveries with every visit. This partnership with Visa brings together its global reach, insights and network of partners with STB’s destination expertise to curate compelling, high-quality experiences and data-driven marketing campaigns that resonate with travellers’ interests. Through this collaboration, we aim to create more opportunities for our tourism businesses and advance STB’s Tourism 2040 priorities through impactful, high-quality tourism growth,” said Melissa Ow, Chief Executive, Singapore Tourism Board.