Shopping malls overtake casinos as biggest earner in Singapore tourism

Shopping spending surged 44% in the first six months of the year.

After luring tourists for half a decade, casinos are losing out to the malls. According to Bloomberg, 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.

HSBC Holdings attribute this to first-time Chinese visitors, as the nation's travelers continue to fuel growth in Singapore's tourism industry. Some 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. Among all visitors, those from China, Indonesia and India were the top three spenders in the second quarter of 2016, clocking up 40 percent of all tourist receipts. Shopping comprised a quarter of total spending, from 18 percent a year earlier.

Click here to know more about the story.