STB, Alibaba map out Singapore’s hotspots as Chinese travel searches surge

Alibaba’s location-based services platform Amap and the Singapore Tourism Board (STB) have teamed up to help Chinese travellers discover Singapore, with a new set of curated rankings featuring 104 attractions, neighbourhoods and lifestyle destinations.

Called "Singapore street stars", the initiative features seven themed rankings under the “Fun in every Way” platform. These span 'Photo-perfect spots', 'Where family fun begins', 'After-dark adventures', 'Next-gen crowd favourites', 'Nature’s reset', 'Curated finds', and 'Local life, real finds'.

The rankings feature a mix of established attractions and local destinations, including Gardens by the Bay, Merlion Park and Sentosa Island, as well as Joo Chiat Road, Haji Lane, Maxwell Food Centre and Tiong Bahru Market.

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For participating restaurants, hotels, retailers and other businesses, the rankings offer an additional channel to reach Chinese travellers based on their interests and travel preferences.

Alongside the rankings, Amap is piloting 'Flying street view' at selected Singapore attractions, using 360-degree panoramic imagery to allow travellers to preview destinations and their surroundings while planning their trips.

The initial locations include Merlion Park, Sentosa Island, Universal Studios Singapore, Gardens by the Bay, Singapore Zoo and Jewel Changi Airport, alongside selected restaurants and hotels featured in the rankings.

Chinese travellers can also search for Singapore destinations in Chinese through the Amap app and access airport transfers, pre-arranged car services and on-demand rides through local operators. Translation functions are available to facilitate communication with drivers, while the app also supports commonly used Chinese mobile payment methods.

Amap plans to promote the themed content and curated routes during peak Chinese travel periods such as the Golden Week holiday, with the aim of giving participating Singapore businesses greater visibility as travellers plan their itineraries.

The initiative marks the first international edition of Amap Street Stars developed in partnership with a national tourism board. It follows a memorandum of understanding signed between Amap and STB in Beijing on 2 June, covering travel discovery, trip planning and on-the-ground services for Chinese travellers before and during their visits.

The partnership also comes as Amap sees rising interest in Singapore among Chinese users. Its platform data showed that the average daily number of users searching for Singapore-related content during the 2026 summer travel season rose 52.3% compared to June 2026. Searches for attractions increased 91.2%, while queries related to shopping and dining rose 87.4% and 70.9%, respectively.

“Singapore Street Stars rely on actual users’ preferences reflecting authentic recommendations,” said Andrew Phua, chief representative and executive director, Greater China, Singapore Tourism Board.

“We hope that more Chinese travellers will use Street Stars to explore Singapore’s diverse travel products and discover experiences based on their passions," added Chua. 

In addition, Liu Li, general manager of Amap’s information platform business, said the platform would continue developing localised rankings and services for different markets.

“We will continue to explore localised rankings and services suited to different countries and regions, meeting the diverse needs of Chinese travellers while giving distinctive local businesses more opportunities to reach Chinese users,” Liu said.

The Amap partnership builds on STB’s efforts to engage Chinese travellers through locally relevant content and cultural collaborations. In November 2025, STB teamed up with Chinese artist XIN LIU on her single Passion, with the accompanying music video filmed across locations including the Asian Civilisations Museum, Jurong Lake Gardens, Clarke Quay and Haji Lane.

The project formed part of STB’s branded entertainment efforts targeting Gen Z and millennial travellers, using music and Singapore’s cultural and lifestyle offerings to showcase the destination to Chinese audiences.

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