More Singaporeans shunning US travel over safety, discrimination concerns: Survey
55% said their interest in visiting US had declined.
Singaporean travellers are increasingly avoiding the United States this year - far more so than their Southeast Asian neighbours - citing concerns over safety, discrimination, gun violence and the political climate.
A survey commissioned by CNBC Travel of 6,000 travellers from Singapore, Indonesia, Vietnam, Thailand, the Philippines and Malaysia found that 55 per cent of Singaporeans said their interest in visiting the US had declined this year - in sharp contrast to the 18 per cent in the region who felt that way.
Only 7 per cent of travellers from Singapore said their interest in the US had increased, much less than the 44 per cent of Southeast Asian respondents.
The survey, conducted between May 22 and June 10, also found that Singaporeans were more likely to cite personal safety, poor treatment or discrimination, gun violence, actions by the Trump administration, and border detentions as reasons for avoiding the US.
The CNBC report was shared on Reddit and sparked mixed reactions.
While some users shared positive recent travel experiences, others pointed to rising unease and suggested alternative destinations such as Canada, Japan, Korea, Taiwan, China and Europe.
"Lol we are the only country with visa exemption to the US in the region (excluding Brunei) and we have the least interest in going there, ironically," said Redditor Mozartonmoon.
"Just went to the US in June and it was smooth for me (ig it depends on the officers but Singaporeans in general shouldn't have a hard time passing through)." they added.
"Anecdotal, but I just came back from a couple weeks road trip in the US. Went to the Grand Canyon, Zion, Yellowstone and Grand Teton. All were staffed, maintained and amazing, no different from the previous time I was there," said another Redditor, lzx1.
But not all the comments were so upbeat.
"It's bad. My relatives who live in the US tell us not to come, lol. It's pretty wild since they used to invite us or always asked when we would be coming over," said Redditor kingsky123.
Shibiwan, a Singaporean living and working in the US, recommended staying away for now.
"There's just too much crazy over here right now. Guns are really not a big worry though. Hopefully we'll see a regime change at the next election. Re-evaluate then.
I work in the tourism sector over here and we are currently down about 25% year-on-year."
Dr Zilmiyah Kamble, senior lecturer in hospitality and tourism management at James Cook University, told CNBC that Singapore's low crime rates may lead its citizens to have higher safety expectations, contributing to the hesitance to travel to the US.