Government Grants for Tourism and Hospitality Businesses in Singapore (2026 Guide)

Singapore’s tourism and hospitality sector has rebounded strongly, with visitor arrivals, hotel occupancy rates, and attraction footfall all trending upward. But the competitive landscape has fundamentally changed. Travellers now research, book, and review their entire trip online, making digital capabilities not just an advantage but a survival requirement for hotels, attractions, tour operators, restaurants, and MICE venues.

The Singapore Tourism Board (STB), Enterprise Singapore, and other government agencies offer a comprehensive suite of grants to help tourism and hospitality businesses digitalise their operations, enhance their marketing, and develop new products and experiences. From subsidised channel manager integrations to funded digital marketing campaigns, the available support is both generous and practical.

This guide details every major government grant available to tourism and hospitality businesses in Singapore in 2026, covering STB-specific programmes, PSG and EDG grants, and practical advice on building a grant-funded digital marketing strategy that drives bookings and revenue.

Overview of Grants for Tourism and Hospitality

Tourism and hospitality businesses in Singapore enjoy a particularly supportive grant environment because the sector is a national economic priority. The government’s target of attracting over 17 million visitors annually requires a competitive tourism ecosystem, and grants are a key mechanism for ensuring Singapore’s tourism offerings remain world-class.

The grant landscape spans sector-specific programmes from STB and broad-based enterprise grants from EnterpriseSG. Understanding which grants apply to your specific business type — whether hotel, attraction, tour operator, MICE venue, or travel agency — is essential for maximising your funding.

Grant Programme Administering Agency Funding Level Yang terbaik untuk
Tourism Development Fund STB Up to 50–70% of qualifying costs Product development, capability building, marketing
Business Improvement Fund (BIF) STB Up to 50% of qualifying costs Innovation, productivity, service quality
Productivity Solutions Grant (PSG) EnterpriseSG Up to 50% of qualifying costs Pre-approved IT solutions
Enterprise Development Grant (EDG) EnterpriseSG Up to 50% of qualifying costs Business transformation and market access
SkillsFuture Enterprise Credit (SFEC) SkillsFuture Singapore $10,000 one-off credit Workforce upskilling
Market Readiness Assistance (MRA) EnterpriseSG Up to 50%, capped at $100,000 Overseas marketing and market entry

The breadth of available support means that a mid-sized hotel, for instance, could use STB’s Business Improvement Fund for a guest experience innovation project, PSG for property management and booking systems, EDG for a comprehensive digital transformation, MRA for overseas marketing campaigns targeting source markets, and SFEC for staff training. When strategically combined, the total grant support can reach well into six figures.

Singapore Tourism Board (STB) Grants and Programmes

STB administers the most relevant sector-specific grants for tourism and hospitality businesses. These programmes are designed to address the unique challenges of the tourism sector and align with Singapore’s broader tourism development strategy.

Tourism Development Fund (TDF): The TDF supports projects that enhance Singapore’s tourism offerings. For individual businesses, this includes developing new tourism products and experiences, upgrading facilities, and marketing initiatives that attract visitors. The fund supports up to 50 to 70 per cent of qualifying costs depending on the project category and the applicant’s profile.

Business Improvement Fund (BIF): The BIF targets innovation and productivity improvement within tourism businesses. Hotels implementing smart room technology, attractions deploying contactless entry systems, or restaurants adopting kitchen automation can apply for BIF support. The fund covers consultancy, technology, and implementation costs at up to 50 per cent of qualifying expenses.

Experience Step-Up Fund: This programme helps tourism businesses create differentiated experiences that position Singapore as a compelling destination. Attractions developing immersive experiences, tour operators creating unique cultural programmes, or hotels designing signature guest journeys can access funding for concept development, prototyping, and market testing.

STB also runs sector-specific marketing initiatives that tourism businesses can participate in, including co-marketing campaigns with source market offices, participation in international travel trade shows, and joint digital marketing programmes targeting high-value traveller segments. These initiatives provide exposure that individual businesses could not afford independently.

To access STB grants, businesses must be licensed by the relevant authorities — hotels require a hotel licence, travel agents require a travel agent licence, and attractions must be registered with STB. Applications are submitted through STB’s online portal, and processing times typically range from six to twelve weeks depending on project complexity.

Productivity Solutions Grant (PSG) for Hotels and Attractions

The PSG covers essential technology solutions that every tourism and hospitality business needs. Pre-approved solutions relevant to the sector include:

Solution Category Tourism and Hospitality Applications Grant Support
Property management system (PMS) Hotel reservations, check-in/out, housekeeping, guest profiles Up to 50%
Point-of-sale (POS) system F&B outlets, retail shops, ticketing counters Up to 50%
Channel manager OTA distribution, rate management, inventory synchronisation Up to 50%
Booking engine Direct website bookings for hotels, attractions, tours Up to 50%
CRM and loyalty platform Guest relationship management, loyalty programmes, marketing automation Up to 50%
Digital marketing package Website, SEO, Google Ads, social media marketing Up to 50%
Accounting software Revenue management, cost control, financial reporting Up to 50%
HR and payroll Staff scheduling, training records, payroll processing Up to 50%

For hotels, the combination of a property management system, channel manager, and direct booking engine forms the technology backbone. A PSG-funded PMS replaces manual reservation books and spreadsheets with a centralised system that manages all aspects of hotel operations. The channel manager ensures rates and availability are synchronised across all online travel agencies (OTAs) in real time, preventing overbooking and rate disparities.

For attractions and tour operators, ticketing systems with online booking capability are the priority. PSG-funded solutions enable visitors to purchase tickets online, select time slots, and receive mobile tickets — reducing queues, improving the visitor experience, and providing valuable data on visitor patterns and preferences.

Restaurants and F&B outlets within the hospitality sector benefit from PSG-funded POS systems that integrate ordering, payment, inventory management, and kitchen display systems. These solutions reduce order errors, speed up table turnover, and provide detailed analytics on menu performance and labour productivity.

Enterprise Development Grant (EDG) for Tourism Businesses

Tourism businesses undertaking comprehensive transformation projects should consider EDG, which funds larger initiatives at up to 50 per cent of qualifying costs. EDG is well-suited for projects that span multiple departments, involve significant process redesign, or require substantial consultancy input.

Common EDG projects in the tourism and hospitality sector include:

Digital guest journey transformation: Redesigning the entire guest experience from pre-arrival to post-departure using digital tools. This might include a mobile app for pre-check-in and room selection, in-room tablet concierge services, digital compendium replacing paper directories, mobile checkout, and automated post-stay review requests. EDG covers the strategy, design, development, and implementation costs.

Revenue management system implementation: Deploying sophisticated revenue management platforms that use data analytics and algorithms to optimise pricing, inventory allocation, and distribution strategy. For hotels, revenue management systems can increase RevPAR (revenue per available room) by 5 to 15 per cent — a significant margin improvement in a sector with high fixed costs.

Market access and international marketing: Tourism businesses targeting specific source markets can use EDG to fund market entry strategies, including market research, partnership development, localised website creation, and digital advertising campaigns targeting travellers in key markets like China, India, Indonesia, and Australia. This complements MRA funding and can cover strategic planning that MRA does not.

Sustainability transformation: With growing traveller demand for sustainable tourism options, EDG can fund projects that reduce environmental impact while creating marketable sustainability credentials. This includes energy management systems, waste reduction programmes, sustainable sourcing frameworks, and green certification processes.

OTA Integration and Channel Management Grants

Online travel agencies (OTAs) like Booking.com, Agoda, Expedia, and Klook dominate the distribution landscape for Singapore’s tourism businesses. Effective OTA management is critical — but so is building direct booking capability to reduce commission costs and own the guest relationship.

PSG-funded channel manager solutions address both needs simultaneously. A channel manager connects your property management system or booking system to multiple OTAs through a single interface, enabling:

Real-time inventory synchronisation: When a room is booked on Booking.com, availability is instantly updated across Agoda, Expedia, and your direct website. This eliminates overbooking risk and the manual effort of updating each platform individually — a task that can consume hours daily for hotels listed on multiple OTAs.

Dynamic rate management: Set different rates for different channels, implement minimum stay requirements, and adjust pricing based on demand patterns — all from a single dashboard. This capability is essential for maximising revenue across channels while maintaining rate parity where required by OTA contracts.

Performance analytics: Track which OTAs generate the most bookings, the highest average daily rate, and the best revenue per booking. This data informs your distribution strategy — you might increase allocation to high-performing channels and reduce reliance on those with high commission rates and low conversion.

For attractions and tour operators, integration with platforms like Klook, GetYourGuide, and Viator is equally important. PSG-funded ticketing solutions that connect to these platforms automate the distribution of tickets and tours, replacing manual email-based booking processes with real-time synchronisation.

The strategic goal is to use OTAs for discovery while building direct booking capability. A grant-funded direct booking engine on your laman web, combined with SEO and Iklan Google driving traffic to your site, creates a direct revenue channel with zero commission costs. Many hotels find that investing in direct booking capability delivers the highest ROI of any digital investment.

Digital Marketing Grants for Tourism Businesses

Digital marketing is arguably the most impactful grant-funded investment for tourism and hospitality businesses. In a sector where the customer journey begins online — with search, social media, and review platforms — visibility translates directly into bookings.

PSG-funded digital marketing packages for tourism businesses typically include:

Website development: A visually compelling, mobile-optimised website with integrated booking functionality, multilingual content (critical for international visitors), immersive photography and video, and clear calls-to-action. For hotels, the website must compete with OTA listings for attention — it needs to be at least as visually appealing and easy to navigate as Booking.com or Agoda.

Search engine optimisation: Ranking for high-value searches like “boutique hotel Singapore,” “things to do in Singapore,” “best spa in Orchard Road,” or “Singapore food tour” drives qualified traffic. The tourism sector is highly competitive in organic search, making professional SEO essential for visibility against both OTAs and competitor businesses.

Google Ads: Pay-per-click campaigns targeting travellers actively searching for accommodation, attractions, and experiences deliver immediate bookings. Hotel campaigns should include Google Hotel Ads, which display pricing and availability directly in search results. For attractions and tours, search campaigns targeting “what to do in Singapore” variations capture tourists in the planning phase.

Social media marketing: Instagram, TikTok, and Facebook are primary inspiration platforms for travellers. Social media marketing showcasing your property, experiences, and guest moments builds aspirational appeal. User-generated content — guest photos and videos — provides authentic social proof that traditional marketing cannot replicate.

Beyond PSG, STB offers co-marketing opportunities where the board matches tourism businesses’ marketing spend for campaigns targeting priority source markets. These co-marketing programmes provide access to STB’s marketing channels, which reach millions of potential travellers globally. Check with STB’s marketing division for current co-marketing opportunities and eligibility criteria.

Eligibility Requirements and Application Guide

Eligibility varies across the different grant programmes. Here is a consolidated reference for tourism and hospitality businesses:

Requirement STB Grants PSG EDG MRA
Registration ACRA-registered, licensed by relevant authority ACRA-registered, operating in SG ACRA-registered, operating in SG ACRA-registered, operating in SG
Licence Hotel licence, TA licence, or STB registration as applicable Not required Not required Not required
Local shareholding Varies by scheme ≥30% local equity ≥30% local equity ≥30% local equity
Company size Varies by scheme ≤200 employees or ≤$100M turnover No restriction ≤200 employees or ≤$100M turnover
Sector Tourism and hospitality only All sectors All sectors All sectors

The application process differs by grant type:

For STB grants: Submit applications through STB’s online portal. Proposals should detail the project scope, expected tourism impact (visitor numbers, spending, satisfaction scores), implementation timeline, and budget. STB assesses applications based on alignment with Singapore’s tourism strategy and the project’s potential to enhance the destination’s competitiveness.

For PSG: Apply through the Business Grants Portal (BGP) using CorpPass. Select pre-approved solutions from the curated list, obtain vendor quotations, and submit the application. Processing takes four to six weeks. Do not commence procurement before receiving the Letter of Offer.

For EDG: Apply through the BGP with a detailed project proposal. Include measurable KPIs such as occupancy rate improvement, RevPAR growth, direct booking ratio increase, or guest satisfaction score improvement. Processing takes eight to twelve weeks.

For MRA: Apply through the BGP for overseas market activities. Eligible expenses include overseas marketing campaigns, market research, business matching trips, and localised website development. Each application covers a specific market, with support capped at $100,000 per market per year.

Tourism businesses should consider engaging a grant consultant, particularly for EDG and STB applications where the proposal quality significantly influences the outcome. Many consultants specialise in tourism and hospitality grants and can help craft compelling proposals that align with the assessors’ criteria.

Marketing Strategies for Tourism and Hospitality

Grant-funded digital marketing works best when it is part of a coherent strategy tailored to the tourism sector’s unique characteristics: seasonal demand fluctuations, multiple customer segments, long booking lead times, and intense online competition. Here are the strategies that deliver results:

Direct booking optimisation: Every direct booking saves 15 to 25 per cent in OTA commissions. Invest in a high-quality direct booking engine, promote the “best rate guarantee” on your website, and use retargeting ads to bring back visitors who checked your site but booked elsewhere. Content marketing that drives organic traffic to your website further reduces reliance on commission-heavy OTA channels.

Source market targeting: Identify your top three to five source markets and create targeted campaigns for each. A Singapore hotel targeting the Australian market might run Google Ads on Australian search terms, create Instagram content featuring attractions relevant to Australian families, and publish blog content addressing common questions Australian travellers have about Singapore.

Review management: Online reviews are the single most influential factor in travel booking decisions. Implement a systematic review generation process — automated post-stay emails requesting reviews on TripAdvisor, Google, and relevant OTAs. Respond to every review, positive or negative, to demonstrate engagement and care. Businesses with higher review volumes and ratings consistently outperform competitors in both organic search and OTA rankings.

Visual content investment: Tourism is inherently visual. Professional photography and video production — showcasing rooms, facilities, food, experiences, and the surrounding neighbourhood — provide content for your website, social media, OTA listings, and advertising. One professional photo shoot generates hundreds of assets that can be deployed across channels for months.

Seasonal campaign planning: Singapore tourism has clear seasonal patterns — peak periods around school holidays, festive seasons, and major events. Plan marketing campaigns around these peaks, increasing advertising spend four to six weeks before each peak and creating promotional packages designed for each season’s traveller profile.

Email marketing for repeat visitors: Build a guest database and implement an email marketing programme that nurtures past guests. Segment by nationality, travel purpose, spending level, and preferences to deliver personalised offers. A loyalty programme integrated with your CRM and email platform creates a systematic approach to repeat business — the most profitable booking channel for any tourism business.

Soalan Lazim

Are small guesthouses and boutique hotels eligible for STB grants?

Yes, provided they hold a valid hotel licence issued by the Hotels Licensing Board. STB grants are available to accommodation providers of all sizes, from large international chain hotels to small boutique properties. In fact, some STB programmes specifically target smaller operators that need the most support in digitalisation and marketing. Check with STB for any minimum room count requirements that may apply to specific schemes.

Can tour operators use grants for online booking system development?

Yes. Tour operators can use PSG for pre-approved booking and reservation systems that enable online tour and activity bookings. For custom booking platform development — for example, a tour operator building a bespoke platform with unique features — EDG may be more appropriate as it covers custom technology development projects. Ensure the chosen solution integrates with major distribution platforms like Klook and GetYourGuide for maximum reach.

What marketing expenses does the MRA grant cover for tourism businesses?

MRA covers overseas marketing activities including digital advertising campaigns targeting specific source markets, overseas trade show participation, market research and feasibility studies, business matching activities, and development of marketing collateral for overseas audiences (including multilingual website content and brochures). Each application targets a specific market, and the grant covers up to 50 per cent of qualifying costs capped at $100,000 per market per year.

Can restaurants within hotels apply for separate grants?

If the restaurant operates as a separate legal entity with its own ACRA registration, it can apply for grants independently. If it operates under the hotel’s entity, the hotel applies for grants covering restaurant technology and marketing as part of the hotel’s overall application. For PSG, the hotel entity can submit separate applications for different solution categories — one for the PMS and another for F&B POS, for instance.

How can tourism businesses measure grant-funded marketing ROI?

Track direct bookings through your website (separating grant-funded marketing traffic from organic), monitor OTA booking trends before and after marketing launch, measure changes in guest acquisition cost, and compare RevPAR or revenue per visitor pre- and post-investment. Set up proper conversion tracking on your website and booking engine before launching campaigns. These metrics also serve as evidence for future grant applications demonstrating the impact of prior investments.

Is it possible to use grants for developing a mobile app for hotel guests?

Yes. Mobile app development can be funded through EDG as part of a digital guest experience transformation project. STB’s Business Improvement Fund may also cover app development if it enhances the visitor experience or improves operational productivity. PSG typically does not cover custom app development, but pre-approved mobile-friendly booking solutions available under PSG may meet your needs without custom development.