nicolas75

Hurun Report interviewed 393 mainland Chinese millionaires on preferences that range from luxury goods to education and gift-giving.

In general, this elite group are workaholics, taking just seven and a half day’s annual leave each year. So when they pipe up about where they chose to spend their precious down time, it’s prudent to listen.

So here they are, the top ten preferred domestic luxury travel destinations.

http://www.travelweekly.com.au/holid...se-millionaire

RichardInSF

Even though the article mentions some hotels by name, it is more a travel guide than anything else. So I am going to move it to the China forum where it will get broader exposure.

RichardInSF, moderator, luxury hotels

aixporter

The article only focuses on domestic destinations. I was expecting something like Hawaii or Bali. What a let down.

JPDM

Hawaii and Bali? No, it is Vegas that should have been expected as an international destination.

bibbju

Why would they go to Vegas when they have Macau on their doorstep? The gambling revenues of Vegas are only 15% of Macau's revenues. Vegas may have more more entertainment but the mainland Chinese are there to gamble rather than be entertained. They can't take more than $50k cash out of China annually but that restriction doesn't apply to Macau since it's part of China. Hence Macau's popularity and booming revenues. Macau dwarfs Vegas for gambling.

travelinmanS

I was at a conference last year where the Hurun guy went through a list of international destinations where Chinese millionaires liked to go. The top places were France, Italy and Australia if I remember correctly. Their main motivation for going to these places was to buy stuff, "luxury goods".

I also remember him listing their favorite hotel chains and top last year was Shangri-La with Hilton coming in a surprising second.

JPDM

It's not just about the gambling aspect. Every Chinese tour in the US seems to stop in Vegas. Lots of shopping opportunities there (for high end). At the factory outlets, the display the UnionPay logo for everyone to see.
In any case, the majority of the Chinese very rich never leave the country for tourism as they can't speak a word of english.

aixporter

You make a good point. I've been to Macau a few times and the Casinos there make more $$$ per sq. ft than Vegas. Just look at the stock performance of Sands Macau compared to their Vegas counterpart.

hawklx

Well the VISA requirement is also a big hurdle, which probably put many people off. I mean of course you can get VISAs, but it takes time, effort and more importantly, planning.
Bottom line: With Chinese passports, they can't just book a last minute flight to US or Europe for a weekend, no matter how rich they are.

AA_EXP09

Well, Chinese passport holders with ABTC can get a US visa in one day, but it's still not easy to get and there aren't embassies in every city.

scubaccr

If I only take 7 days a year, probably not as one chunk, i am not going to waste time on long flights to+from a destination, even with a private plane as that would eat into half those 7 days. it is no wonder local luxury is their choice.

AA_EXP09

In this context I would include HK/Macau as 'local' (though I don't exactly like doing so, there are the facts that both receive mainland tourists several times higher than their own population...)

moondog

I'm kind of surprised that Xinjiang is on the list and Shanghai is not. But, I suppose the omission of Shanghai could be partially explained by the fact that people from Beijing (which as a high concentration of very rich folks) generally look down upon Shanghai.

Pimevai

Actually the language barrier is a very small if not non-existent factor in my experience. Most richer Chinese nationals don't travel abroad due to Visa restrictions and time constraints, and in some cases travel restrictions if they are civil servants or in the military. The longest vacations normally don't exceed a week in length in China, and 2-3 days on the road takes a huge chunk out of that annual vacation. Also many Chinese will travel abroad to US, Europe, Australia (soon UK and Canada as well) as they have been streamlining the Visa application process, and the easier it is to get a Visa, the more Chinese go there. France and Italy are big because a Schengen Visa is relatively easy to obtain and allows entry into multiple European countries with one application saving time and trouble, on top of those countries producing many luxury goods.

joe19924

My girlfriend is from Yunnan and I was there in March. Quite surprised it's 4th. I wasn't any more impressed with Kunming than I was anywhere else within the province. Shangri-la, Lijiang and Dali are all lovely places however.
They've got it right about Yunnan being a nature retreat - there is some fantastic scenery about, especially accessible if you've got a local for a girlfriend