Do you know what tourists visiting Singapore enjoy doing in the Lion City? As what many would have expected, a majority of them like eating and shopping – at least based on how much they’ve spent doing these things.

According to the Mastercard Global Destination Cities Index: Indulgences, Singapore ranked fifth and tenth in the global index for overall spend in shopping and food & beverages respectively.

The index ranks 162 cities in terms of total international overnight visitors and the amount spent by them in these cities in 2017.

Compared to 2016, there has been a 9% increase for the total expenditure spend, with travellers in Singapore spending an average of $286 (S$392) per day in 2017.

In 2017, tourists in Singapore spent $2.2 billion (S$3 billion) just on dining alone – that’s 12.9 per cent of their travelling budget. The only other two Asian cities that was included in the Top 10 chart are Bangkok and Tokyo, where visitors spent 20.6 per cent and 20.3 per cent respectively at these food heaven destinations.

When it comes to shopping, the index reveals that tourists lavishly spend their money purchasing clothes, souvenirs and other good, which resulted in total spending of $4.7 billion (S$6.4 billion) on shopping alone, which is equivalent to about 27.6 per cent of their overall budget for travelling. The only Asian city that beat Singapore was Tokyo and it ranked a tad higher at fourth place.

But that’s nothing compared to Dubai, where tourists spent a whopping $8.91 billion (S$12.2 billion) on shopping. Other Asian cities on the top 10 list include Bangkok at sixth place, Seoul at seventh and Kuala Lumpur at ninth spot.

“Travellers are increasingly looking for authentic and unique experiences, with food and shopping offering a gateway into a city’s culture, people and history…With its vibrant malls and quaint eateries offering a wide variety of local and international cuisines, it is no surprise that Singapore ranks amongst the top five and 10 cities globally for shopping and dining respectively, providing visitors a truly immersive cultural experience,” said Deborah Heng, Country Manager for Mastercard Singapore.