Singapore, Feb 9 (IANS): Singapore welcomed 1.24 million Chinese visitors, a record number, in the first half of the last year, a rise of 27 percent rise from the same period the previous year, authorities said.
For the first time, the Chinese emerged as the biggest spenders, overtaking Indonesian visitors, reported Xinhua.
Singapore Tourism Board figures show that Chinese visitors spent almost 1.52 billion Singapore dollars ($1.2 billion) in the first half of the last year, three percent more than Indonesians. This excludes what they spent on sightseeing and entertainment.
Four years ago, Indonesian visitors chalked up nearly $1 billion more in tourism receipts than the Chinese visitors. Indonesians had been the biggest-spending visitors here since 2007.