China’s tiger mums tour Singapore universities during holiday to give children competitive edge

For many Chinese parents, Singapore compares favourably to the US as a much safer place to study and to Australia as a cheaper place to stay

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Chinese parents used their “golden week” holiday to size up higher education in Singapore. Photo: Jean Iau

Published: 3:17pm, 12 Oct 2024Updated: 3:23pm, 12 Oct 2024

When millions of Chinese flew abroad for the “golden week” holiday, not all plans involved visiting museums, high-rolling in casinos or relaxing on a beach – many ended up touring university campuses in Singapore.

Chinese parents, known to go the distance to give their children the academic edge, used their holiday to size up higher education in the city state. The trend spawned a mini ecosystem around the visits, creating business opportunities for hotels, bus and travel operators.

Many tour agencies in China sought to capitalise on this. Xiaohongshu, China’s Instagram-like app, featured more than 170,000 posts tagged to #SingaporeUniversityTourStrategy. Ads for such tours – offered for as much as 2,388 yuan (US$340) – were doing the rounds on apps, tour platforms and e-commerce sites like Taobao and 8Pig. Some went as far as offering consultancy services to help people settle in Singapore.

Singapore universities had to resort to crowd control measures on campus after visitor numbers jumped in recent months leading up to the golden week – the week-long holiday to mark China’s National Day. So much so that students took to online forums like Reddit to complain about disruptions to their classes, overcrowding on campus buses and cafeterias, and impolite etiquette.

The National University of Singapore curbed access to dining areas and other venues for tourists between September 30 and October 7, according to a student union statement. Earlier this year, Nanyang Technological University began charging a fee for tour groups, and also laid out plans to prioritise campus buses over those carrying visitors.

Although a temporary inconvenience for the universities, the interest signals a shift in Chinese parents’ preference towards college education in the city state. Besides the fact that NUS and NTU figure high in university ratings like the QS World University Rankings, some parents cited Singapore’s easy visa regime as a draw, and also because it’s closer to home and affordable to travel.