Luxury shopping ‘major factor’ in tourism

Travel and luxury shopping go hand in hand for the Asian traveller, with shopping being a major factor in destination choice.
Also, affluent travellers from across Asia are set to significantly increase their overseas leisure travel during the next year, according to a seminar at the 10th edition of the International Luxury Travel Market (ILTM) Asia, which opened in Shanghai yesterday.
Amrita Banta of Agility Research was revealing the findings of the company’s latest survey, The Future of the Asian Luxury Traveller, which explores the attitudes and travel patterns of 5373 high-net-worth individuals across eight countries: China, Hong Kong, India, Japan, Malaysia, Singapore, South Korea and Taiwan.
Banta says the new Asian high-net-worth traveller seeks luxury. Indians are cited as wanting to travel first class and stay in five-star hotels, and are seeking unexplored destinations and new experiences; travellers from Hong Kong go to Japan to ski; and Chinese travellers prefer nature tours and safaris.
While China is the leading leisure travel source market of the eight regions, Singaporeans are the most frequent travellers.  
Tokyo is not only a top destination for the Chinese, but increasingly tourists from across Asia. Osaka is also becoming a major destination.
The seminar kicked off the education program at the show, and the evening continued with the opening forum at which Hurun Report chairman/chief researcher Rupert Hoogewerf spoke about Why China’s Generation Y is Driving Global Luxury and the effects of Chinese rapid wealth creation on the global luxury market.
Entrepreneur/writer Rachel Botsman also discussed the Airbnb and Uber platforms and how they represent a generational shift in the way people access goods and services.  
ILTM Asia has provided 25,000 one-to-one matched appointments between global luxury travel representatives and nearly 500 high-end Asian travel agents. The event ends tomorrow.

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