This paper represents an exploratory empirical study testing a proposed framework analysing the importance of attractions in driving tourism. The study is framed within Pearce's travel career pattern model and McKercher's proposed attraction's hierarchy model. Singapore's most important source markets are analysed. The study concluded that individual attractions play a more critical role in driving demand for the most and least destination knowledgeable and for people who travel for Pearce's middle‐ and outer‐layer motives. Individual attractions play a much less important role among tourists who are somewhat destination aware and who are travelling to have Pearce's core motives met.