Travel Trends for China’s Millionaires

The Hurun Research Institute has released The Chinese Luxury Travel White Paper, giving insight into the preferences of China’s luxury consumers.

The study, which was created from one-on-one interviews with 463 Chinese millionaires and billionaires, sheds new light onto how the wealthiest Chinese make travel decisions.

I found several details to particularly interesting, including:

  • Chinese millionaires average 15 days of vacation annually, including three trips abroad. One-third will take more than 20 days of vacation per year and 20% will travel abroad five or more every year.
  • France is now the top travel destination, followed by the United State (which had been #1 in 2009 and 2010), Australia, Japan, and the Maldives. 
  • 4 out of 5 millionaires consider sending their children overseas for education, with the US, UK and Canada topping the list. 
  • 80% of Chinese millionaires prefer to travel on their own rather than with a tour group.
  • 57% of the ultra-wealthy make their own travel arrgangements using a travel agent or professional website.
  • Only 11% of Chinese millionaires book travel through a hotel website. 
  • When choosing where to stay, brand is the most important factor, followed by service, facilities, and location.
  • The preferred hotel brands of Chinese millionaires are Shangri-La, Hilton, Park Hyatt and The Ritz-Carlton. 

For US hotel companies seeking to gain a toe-hold in the Asian travel market, this study gives actionable insight in how to market to ultra-wealthy Chinese. 

For example, with such a large number of Chinese considering an overseas education for their children, do you think proximity to major universities would be a consideration for the guest? If so, do your professional travel agents have a list of area universities? Is this information detailed on the top-performing international travel websites? 

With such a high percentage of millionaires preferring to travel without a group, is your hotel prepared to host a single Chinese family? Without a group guide as a primary communicator for the guests, are your facilities and staff prepared to service a Chinese guest? For example, do you have community maps and guides printed in simplified Chinese? Are your restaurant and in-room dining menus availble in multiple languages? Do you provide multiple Mandarin television channels? Do you provide currency exhange services? 

I think this study is truly fasciniating. Hotels and brands that implement these insights in their service standards and marketing stand to gain marketshare in this rapidly emerging market.