SINGAPORE, 6 November 2025: Singapore’s neighbours benefitted from an increase in visitors who extended their travel to other Asia Pacific nations following the Formula 1 Singapore Grand Prix race weekend, Visa’s latest data revealed.
The top beneficiaries were Indonesia, Malaysia, and Thailand.
About 20% of visitors to the Singapore Grand Prix, held on 5 October, made post-race travel plans to other countries. On average, travellers spent an additional 3.5 days on the move after the Singapore Grand Prix concluded.
Post-race travel for the remainder of October was especially prominent for long-haul travellers from outside of Asia. Visa data showed that about 35% of them visited at least one other country after the race week, higher than the average.
Top destinations included neighbouring countries Indonesia, Malaysia, and Thailand, which are easily accessible by short flights from Singapore, while Australia and Japan were also popular destinations.
Travellers spent about 40% more per person than they typically do at home, with the biggest spenders hailing from the US, Australia, Mainland China, Germany, and France.
Restaurants and eateries top of travellers’ spending in Malaysia, Indonesia, and Thailand, while spending on retail was higher in Australia and Japan.
Affluent travellers are identified as an engine of post-race tourism and spending. Beyond the overall lift to travel, Visa’s global and always-on network also offers more in-depth insights on the profile of travellers, notably affluent travellers.
Approximately 25% of affluent cardholders made additional travel plans after the Formula 1 weekend, which was higher than the average of 20% for all cardholders.
Their preferred destinations also included long-haul trips to Europe and North America.
Affluent travellers also spent about 20% more per person than other travellers on their post-race journeys, contributing to the surge in travel spending.
Compared to other travellers, they spent about 65% more in department stores and around 50% more on apparel and on their post-race itineraries.
Travellers embracing contactless payments
Singapore’s established digital and contactless payment infrastructure is a natural hotbed for contactless card payments. Still, Visa data found that the use and preference for contactless payments persisted no matter where travellers went after the Singapore Grand Prix:
About 85% of all face-to-face transactions were made via contactless card payments by travellers who visited another country after the race.
Travellers from markets like Australia and the UK saw near-universal adoption, with contactless payments used in approximately 95% of all face-to-face transactions.
However, use of contactless payments by travellers from regions including Japan, Cambodia, Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand and Vietnam, where contactless acceptance is still developing, exceeded 80%.
Visa’s findings highlight a continuing and growing preference for frictionless and secure payment experiences, particularly in the travel sector. Contactless payments let travellers consume, pay, and move seamlessly and safely regardless of where they go, matched by growing contactless payment acceptance in the Asia Pacific and around the world – be it by restaurants, supermarkets, or even by open-loop transit systems that allow commuters to pay for bus and rail rides at the tap of their cards or smartphones.
Visa’s head of Consulting and Analytics, Asia Pacific, Prateek Sanghi, said: “Major events drive tourism and also create positive spillover effects in neighbouring cities and regions. Travellers from all segments have rapidly evolving preferences, with high-profile sports events becoming both a fixture and a catalyst in their travel plans.”
(Source: Visa)
