From $62,000 hotel suites to race packages with six-figure price tags, the Singapore Grand Prix is a windfall for companies close to the Marina Bay monitor.
However the cash is not staying in Singapore. Knowledge exhibits vacationers are additionally spending throughout Asia earlier than and after the three-day System One race, which begins Friday.
Flight bookings analyzed by advertising platform Sojern point out that, amongst these with onward journeys, 1 / 4 of Individuals and Canadians are including journeys to Japan, 18% of Europeans are additionally visiting Thailand, and almost one-third of Australians are tacking on journeys to Indonesia, overwhelmingly to Bali.
Different vacationers are pairing this yr’s occasion in Singapore with facet journeys to China, South Korea, India, the Maldives and Fiji, Sojern stated.
Samer Elhajjar, a senior lecturer on the Nationwide College of Singapore, stated that journey web sites in different international locations are bundling journeys to Singapore’s night time race with stops at widespread island locations in Southeast Asia.
“Guests will come to Singapore, benefit from the F1, after which they transfer to Bali for 2 or three days,” he stated. “That is truly wonderful for the financial system of the area.”
CNBC Travel discovered journey packages to the 2025 Singapore Grand Prix coupled with journeys to Langkawi and Borneo in Malaysia, and a cruise that mixes the race with stops in Japan, Hong Kong and Vietnam.
Pitstop, not full cease
Sojern’s information comports with information from Visa printed in Could, which confirmed that different System One races in Asia-Pacific generated tourism income exterior of host cities too.
Round 25% of foreigners who attended the 2025 Australian Grand Prix stayed round Melbourne’s suburbs after the race, whereas 10% remained within the metropolis itself, in response to Visa’s information. But some ventured to the Yarra Valley wine area, and 5% traveled to Sydney, some 500 miles away.
At April’s Japan Grand Prix in Suzuka, worldwide attendees ventured even farther away, in response to Visa. Knowledge confirmed round 10% went to Osaka, one other 5% to Kyoto; nonetheless, the most well-liked vacation spot to go to after the race was Okinawa (20%), greater than 700 miles from the circuit.
Switching gears
The three-day Singapore Grand Prix has developed right into a week-long occasion for a lot of, drawing world leaders and enterprise vacationers to commerce boards scheduled across the race, resembling crypto convention Token2049 and the Milken Institute Asia Summit.
Vacationers from North America and Europe collectively account for round 1 / 4 of arrivals forward of this yr’s race in Singapore, and so they are inclined to arrive earlier and keep longer than these coming from Asia, in response to Sojern’s information.
Australians nonetheless have the biggest share of inbound flight bookings; nonetheless, arrivals from South Korea and China elevated this yr, breaking into the highest 5, surpassing the UK, it confirmed.
The 2025 race can be attracting extra households, up 6.6% from final yr, whereas solo vacationers fell 8%, indicating an increase in leisure vacationers attending the race.
“Which means the stays will likely be prolonged,” stated Nationwide College of Singapore’s Elhajjar. “That is nice for the financial system of Singapore … [and] the financial system of the area.”
A separate survey from Hilton printed Thursday discovered that some 40% of vacationers in Asia-Pacific plan to guide a world journey to attend a sporting or music occasion, led by 59% of respondents in China and 57% in India.
“The findings reinforce a broader client shift, with clients more and more prioritizing spend on experiences over bodily items,” stated Ben George, senior vice chairman and industrial director, Asia Pacific, Hilton.
The survey, which polled 5,000 respondents from China, India, Japan, Australia and Singapore, additionally revealed that vacationers are spending more cash and loyalty points on experiences at these occasions, resembling meet-and-greets with drivers and behind-the-scenes excursions, he stated.
George stated Hilton members spent greater than 9 million loyalty factors on six Singapore Grand Prix expertise packages this yr, which was “a 23% improve in contrast with final yr — the best whole to this point for this race.”
