Singaporeans share mixed reactions as Singapore tourism rises after Japan trip cancellations spike amid Japan-China diplomatic spat

SINGAPORE: Singaporeans shared mixed reactions as some Chinese travellers redirected their holidays to the little red dot, following data from China Trading Desk.

The data shows about 30% of 1.44 million trips to Japan planned through the end of December were cancelled by Chinese citizens amid a worsening diplomatic spat between the two neighbours.

Of these, about 70% were near-term departures that were cancelled or delayed, with no new bookings yet, which could cut at least US$500 million (S$652 million) in spending from Japan, and up to US$1.2 billion, Bloomberg reported, citing China Trading Desk founder and CEO Subramania Bhatt. 

While Japan faced a sharp drop in visitors, Singapore, along with South Korea, Thailand, Malaysia and Vietnam, has seen a rise in new bookings over the past week. 

Some Singaporeans hailed it as the “best time to head to Japan,” while others groaned at the thought of Chinese visitors flocking in: “Fwah lao eh, Singapore so small, cannot take it la.”

Meanwhile, another remarked, “Japan will definitely feel this unfortunately.”

The trip cancellations came after China told its citizens to avoid travelling to Japan, following comments by Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi on a hypothetical attack on Taiwan. /TISG

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