How Visa is serving up Singapore's dining scene to travellers

Visa is tapping Singapore's dining scene to give travellers another reason to explore Marina Bay, teaming up with Marina Bay Sands, UOB and the Singapore Tourism Board (STB) on a five-month culinary programme bringing local and international restaurants together.

Titled "A moment to savour", the programme will run from November 2026 to March 2027 and sits under the Visa Destinations platform, which brings together curated experiences and privileges aimed at encouraging visitors to discover more of Singapore.

Through the programme, restaurants and chefs based in Singapore will collaborate with international culinary names on limited-time dining experiences across the Marina Bay precinct. The initiative is aimed at both international visitors and locals, while positioning Singapore's food scene as part of its broader destination appeal.

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The series will kick off at Marina Bay Sands in November with a two-night collaboration between one-Michelin-starred Waku Ghin and two-Michelin-starred MOSU Seoul, helmed by chef Anh Sung Jae, who also served as a head judge on Netflix's Culinary Class Wars.

Further collaborations will roll out across restaurants including Labyrinth, Saint Pierre, Peach Blossoms, JAAN by Kirk Westaway, Odette and 1887 by André. International names joining the programme include Masque's Varun Totlani, Nusara's Thitid "Ton" Tassanakajohn and L'air du Temps' San Degeimbre.

The programme also brings a payments and customer engagement layer to the destination push. UOB Visa cardholders across Singapore and Southeast Asia will receive priority access to the experiences, followed by Visa Infinite cardholders and Visa cardholders globally.

According to Visa, the programme builds on the recently launched Visa Destinations Singapore platform and reflects the role that dining can play in influencing travel and encouraging visitors to explore a destination.

Adeline Kim, group country manager for regional Southeast Asia and SVP, global clients, Asia Pacific at Visa, said, "With dining continuing to be a significant area of traveller spend and a powerful reason for people to explore a destination, this programme brings exceptional local and international culinary talent together to celebrate the flavours that make Singapore distinctive and strengthen its appeal as one of the world's leading culinary destinations." 

For Marina Bay Sands, the collaboration also forms part of a broader effort among precinct partners to strengthen Marina Bay's positioning as a lifestyle destination.

Irene Lin, senior vice president and chief marketing officer, resort marketing at Marina Bay Sands, said, "By bringing celebrated local and international culinary talent to the Bay, we hope to create distinctive experiences that inspire visitors to discover Singapore's dynamic dining scene, while strengthening Marina Bay's position as a leading lifestyle destination on the global stage." 

UOB is also using the collaboration to extend its dining proposition to cardholders across the region. Jacquelyn Tan, head, group personal financial services at UOB, said the programme builds on the Marina Bay precinct partnership while tapping the bank's regional customer base.

Meanwhile, STB assistant chief executive, marketing group Kenneth Lim said programmes such as "A moment to savour" can create experiences for visitors and locals while reinforcing Singapore's positioning as a destination where international culinary experiences converge.

The launch also builds on Visa's recent efforts to grow Visa Destinations through partnerships centred on travel experiences across Southeast Asia. Last month, Klook and Visa partnered across six Southeast Asian markets to tap the growing role of experiences in travel planning. Spanning Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia, the Philippines and Vietnam, the partnership combines Klook's experiences platform with Visa's payments network.

The partnership covers joint creator programmes, cardholder offers and in-destination brand presence, with Klook also joining Visa Destinations as a partner. It comes as travellers increasingly build trips around activities and experiences rather than beginning with a fixed destination.

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