Transport Minister S Easwaran said air travel in Singapore is recovering and has reached around 40% of pre-Covid levels despite China’s border restrictions.
He said passenger traffic from China is important to Singapore. About 3.6 million Chinese residents traveled to Singapore in 2019, According to statistics from the local tourism board, it accounts for 13% of the total visitors.
China remained one of the top sources of visitors to Singapore during the pandemic, but that may change as other countries ease border measures. In April, Singapore received just 5,000 visitors from China, which is less than 2% of total arrivals, the data showed.
Travelers from China are still required to undergo multiple COVID tests and quarantine upon arrival in the country.
Still, there are opportunities for growth in travel, Easwaran told CNBC’s Steve Sedgwick and Geoff Cutmore at the World Economic Forum on Wednesday.
“We have seen a significant rebound in air travel through Singapore in less than two months from mid-March to mid-May,” Easwaran said.
“Our volumes have more than doubled pre-Covid to around 40 odd percent, and we expect this momentum to continue,” he said.