China Elite Focus Limited

Last year Chinese tourists bought almost two-thirds of luxury goods sold in Europe. But while mainlanders are happy to splurge on foreign soil, what their government needs is for them to open the purse strings at home.

With easing travel restrictions and growing spending power, American politicians and businesspeople look to the increasing number of Chinese travelers to speed economic recovery.

FORGET cuddly koalas and idyllic beaches – Australia should be marketing shopping centres, wine tasting and casinos to Chinese tourists, according to international experts.

Luxury stores are preparing for wealthy Chinese shoppers for the Chinese Year of the Dragon. The easing of travel restrictions in China means the turn of the year has become a time for international travel and shopping for the country’s elite.

Selling entry-level priced Louis Vuitton small accessories to a large number of Chinese consumers may be a good idea from a pure short-term perspective, but is conveys risks on the long term on the brand image of LV with affluent Chinese consumers.

“African destinations must also learn to attract more Chinese leisure tourists”, said Mrs Françoise Kameni-Lele, President of the China to Africa organization (CTA), the official organization promoting Africa to Chinese outbound tourists.

Acknowledging the prominent role of the travel and tourism sector in creating jobs and powering the economy, President Obama announced that he has issued an Executive Order aimed at boosting travel and tourism during an event in Orlando, Florida.

The U.S. Travel industry worked with Congressional appropriators to secure significant victories related to U.S. visa system and traveler facilitation reforms in the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2012.

The new generation of young and affluent Chinese outbound tourists prefer the independent travel blogs to "official" outbound travel agencies to make their choice of leisure destination outside China.

Pierre Gervois, the marketing guru based in Shanghai, will be in New York City on October 11th and 12th, 2011 for a series of lectures and meetings with US travel, hospitality and retail professionals.