We can thank the Indonesians, Chinese and Indians. A study of spending among tourists during the January to September 2010 period shows the Indonesians topping the list followed by the Chinese and Indians.
Indonesians:USD 1.58 billion
Chinese:USD 0.95 billion
Indians: USD 575 million
The Tourist Promotion Board revealed that tourists from India and China spent mostly on shopping while the Indonesians spent mostly on health expenses. This is definitely not a surprise to me. Specialist clinics are crowded with mainly Indonesian patients, and I do see Indian tourists packing Mustafa – the 24 hour shopping centre at Singapore’s Little India. They seem to buy big-ticket items like electronics as well as loads of gold jewellery.
This is also probably why we have tons of malls here.
