What wealthy Chinese want from their travel experiences - and what they don't want
Some complain they are charged high fees while others want to have a relaxing itinerary so they can absorb the local culture
This article was originally written by Ruonan Zheng and was published on Jing Daily
Affluent Chinese tourists, travellers with a net worth of US$1.5 million (10 million yuan) or more, are creating huge opportunities in the outbound travel market thanks to their growing demand for high-quality lifestyle and travel experiences. In 2017, these tourists took one-tenth of China’s total outbound trips, but their overseas consumption accounted for half of all spending from Chinese travellers abroad, according to Chinese research institute Yaok’s report on Chinese affluent travellers.
The report looks at travel behaviour from 2,000 affluent individuals between the months of April and August 2018, and offers insights for brands on how to better understand this demographic – from who they are to where they spend money. Here are Jing Daily’s 5 biggest takeaways along with customer quotes from the report (spoiler: it looks like their travel habits might not differ much from their Western counterparts’ habits).
1. Affluent Chinese travellers are not satisfied with the services currently on the market
The current customer satisfaction rate is poor – less than 20 per cent – and the main complaints include poor customer service, false marketing claims, and price deception. As a rule, the more high-end the customer is, the more concerned they are with customer service, so this is important information for brands looking to conquer the luxury travel market. Because there’s a wide information gap on overseas cultural experiences, the prices of outbound travel packages often vary, and some companies take advantage of customers by charging unreasonably high service fees. And with no regulations in place, the service quality from tour guides and agencies can vary drastically.
Mr Zhao, 40, a small-business owner, said: “I went on a military equipment tour with my buddies in Russia. We had already booked some programmes like outdoor shooting and tank driving, but it turns out we still needed to pay extra. I feel like they are bullying foreigners. It was very unpleasant.”
2. Learning is the purpose of many of their trips
