The allure of retail shops has kept tourists at bay from Singapore casinos.

The Business Times reported that the number of tourists visiting shopping complex in Singapore has surged by as much as 44 percent in the first half of 2016 from a year ago, citing official data.

It is also the first time since 2012 that Shopping has overtaken gambling as the biggest earner in Singapore’s tourism. Among all visitors, those from China, Indonesia and India were the top three spenders in the second quarter of 2016, clocking up 40 per cent of all tourist receipts.

Data showed that some 2.1 million Chinese flew to Singapore last year, more than double that of 2009 – the year before the country opened the first of its two casinos.