Changi Airport is now also the best shopping centre in the world!

SINGAPORE: These days, having a nice place to go to is no longer enough. Travellers increasingly expect a positive end-to-end experience, with the journey counting nearly as much as the destination.

This includes even airports, where people can spend at least two to three hours before they get on a plane. Therefore, even the airport experience is essential.

Enter Changi Airport, which many travellers have deemed the best airport in the world for shopping.

Based on thousands of reviews from Skytrax, the e-commerce company CouponBirds called Changi Airport the ultimate airport shopping experience.

"From the time you walk in the airport it environment is different from the typical airport facility. It has the comforting climate of a hotel while having all the stores of a mall. But not that is not all. Did I mention they have movie theatre gym game stations too?" one reviewer wrote.

Changi Airport’s score of 4.44 out of five stars from travellers is higher by 10 per cent than that of runner-up Hong Kong Airport.

[caption id="attachment_604719" align="aligncenter" width="640"] Screengrab/ CouponBirds[/caption]

“Changi handles a whopping 5.73 million monthly passengers, nearly as many people living in Singapore.

Its strategic location as a transcontinental hub means there’s a captive audience eager to spend during layovers,” said travel site Matador Network earlier this month.

Read related: More tourists caught shoplifting at Changi Airport transit halls

One thing travellers who love to shop at airports enjoy about Changi Airport is that the sheer number of shops means you are spoilt for choice.

As seen in the video below, those needing it can even avail themselves of a shopping concierge for assistance.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rYjqK7BG498

Travelers can also check out Changi Airport’s shopping directory online here, to save you time so you can plan to hit a particular store or two.

For example, Changi Airport has the following shops: Apple, Asics, Adidas, Balenciaga, Burberry, Bulgari, Bottega Venetta, Coach, and Converse, and that’s just some stores whose names start with the first three letters in the alphabet.

The directory also shows which shops are temporarily closed or renovated.

For would-be travellers who also like to shop, here is the complete top ten list:

1. Changi Airport, Singapore (4.44)
2. Hong Kong International Airport (3.95)
3. Cape Town International Airport, South Africa (3.86)
4. Tampa International Airport, USA (3.81)
5. Incheon International Airport, Korea (3.78)
6. Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport, USA (3.78)
7. Haneda Airport, Japan (3.76)
8. Porto Airport, Portugal (3.70)
9. Narita Airport, Japan (3.69)
10. Portland International Airport, USA (3.63)

Unfortunately, Krabi International Airport in Thailand received just 1.43 stars out of 5. /TISG

Read also: Elon Musk praises Lee Kuan Yew as “brilliant” in response to blog post about Changi Airport Featured image: Depositphotos