The Chinese luxury travel market is moving away from group shopping and sightseeing tours, says Tony Liu, general manager of Shanghai-based high-end travel agent, Dragon Blaze Journeys.

“Ten years ago, instead of viewing staying a five-star hotel stay as an experience, wealthy Chinese travellers saw it as a waste,” he says. “They preferred to use their money to buy Gucci, Louis Vuitton and Prada items that they could take back home.

“Now, Chinese luxury travellers spend time in the spas, the Michelin-star restaurants – and they enjoy doing so. They also tend to stay on one city longer than before.

Liu says the change in mindset amongst China’s luxury travellers is fuelling the popularity of high-end island escapes within the market.

“Previously, if Chinese luxury travellers spent five nights in the Maldives, they’d find it boring, because they were used to having different activities everyday and moving around constantly, and they believed this was the way to do leisure travel.

“These days, they’ll find a calm resort where they can eat good food, slow down and relax, and these kind of experiences are getting more popular instead of those ‘rush rush’ tours.”

He adds: “I recently stayed at the St Regis Bora Bora, and saw that half of the guests were from China. During Chinese New Year, flights and accommodation to Bora Bora are all full now, and all occupied by Chinese travellers. And they’re staying for at least five nights. So, you can see how things have changed for the market.”

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