CHINESE tourists spent more on luxury goods than any other nationality for a third consecutive year despite fewer overseas trips, according to a survey compiled during March and April.
"Luxury travelers," those with more than US$1 million in assets, were found to have taken 2.8 trips in this year's survey, compared to 3.2 trips in the 2012 survey, while the "super rich" (US$10 million in assets) went on 3.4 overseas journeys compared to 4.2 the year before.
However, they were still the biggest national group in terms of tax-free shopping, according to The Chinese Luxury Traveler (2013) report, spending an average of 875 euros (US$1,139) per trip, an increase of 8 percent from the year before and 70 percent higher than the global average.
A considerable part of that was spent on gifts, the report noted. Watches were the favorite purchase for men, followed by wine, and jewelry for women, followed by clothes.
"The global travel industry has recognized that China's luxury travelers are No. 1 and are doing everything they can to appeal to this key group of luxury travelers," said Rupert Hoogewerf, chairman and chief researcher of the Hurun Report, which published the latest findings in conjunction with International Luxury Travel Market Asia.
Europe is the favorite destination for China's luxury travelers with five countries among their top 10 preferred destinations - France topped the list while Switzerland, UK, Italy and Germany all proved popular. The US and Singapore were second and third.
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