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Luxury in China
Business

China’s high-rollers choosing luxury flats rather than top-end hotels on holiday

  • Parent-child travel becomes the new favourite among country’s ultra rich
  • Top destination is Europe, followed by Americas and Africa, with Thailand favourite country for a holiday home

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Visitors watch the mermaids’ performance inside Atlantis Sanya hotel in Sanya. The island resort in southern China comes out as the top domestic choice for well-healed Chinese to have their holiday home, in the latest Hurun lifestyle survey. Photo: SCMP / Dickson Lee
Joanna Lam

For China’s well-heeled travellers, a satisfying holiday is no longer synonymous with hanging out at luxury resorts and going on a shopping spree in department stores.

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Instead, they now yearn for overseas excursions that blend customised service, authentic experience and exotic destinations, according to a new survey of 236 wealthy holidaymakers in China.

Nearly 30 per cent rated Africa as the most popular overseas destination over the past year, making it their third most popular destination ever, following Europe (39 per cent) and the Americas (36 per cent), the Hurun Chinese Luxury Traveller report shows.

Chinese tourists visit the Temple of the Emerald Buddha in Bangkok, Thailand. The country is the most-popular overseas location for well-healed Chinese to have a holiday home. Photo: Reuters
Chinese tourists visit the Temple of the Emerald Buddha in Bangkok, Thailand. The country is the most-popular overseas location for well-healed Chinese to have a holiday home. Photo: Reuters
The study reached out to individuals who spend more than 350,000 yuan (a whopping US$50,250) annually on travel.

When it comes to accommodation, traditional hotels are no longer the go-to choice, with nearly a quarter now turning to Airbnb-style holiday homes.

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“The performance of the high-end short-stay holiday home market has been weak. However, as travelling as a family grows in popularity, the market is likely to see significant development in the future,” said Rupert Hoogewerf, the Hurun Report chairman and chief researcher.

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