Casinos have been luring tourists to Singapore for more than half a decade, but are they abandoning the casinos for the city's mall culture? Bloomberg is reporting that indeed they are.
"Shopping has overtaken gambling as the biggest earner in Singapore's tourism industry for the first time since 2012, surging 44 percent in the six months through June from a year ago, official data show," writes David Roman.
The trend is due mainly to an influx of Chinese visitors.
"Some 2.1 million Chinese visited Singapore last year, more than double that of 2009 -- the year before the city-state opened the first of its two casinos," Roman notes.
While shopping is what draws many first-time visitors for a while, many think that casinos will be back in the future.
"Casinos have been a major drawcard for Chinese tourists to Singapore and it remains to be seen whether shopping will continue to outpace gambling. They are still the biggest spenders, forking out $1,205 each in the city-state last year, just ahead of Thai visitors," writes Roman.
The Chinese are spending big when it comes to shopping.
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"Chinese travelers spent a whopping S$1.15 billion ($807 million) shopping in Singapore last year, which compares with S$112 million for Japanese and S$175 million for Indians," Roman notes.
For more on Chinese spending trends in Singapore, read on here.
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