More wealthy Chinese tourists coming
They are chic urbanites who go on shopping sprees at luxury brand boutiques, wine and dine at upscale restaurants including Western eateries, and insist on staying at hotels with no less than a five-star ranking.
Say hello to the changing face of Chinese tourists in Singapore. These well-heeled sophisticates who favour customised holidays are rapidly growing in number, even as Chinese mass-market travellers here on package tours – with a sartorial penchant for cotton pyjamas and pairing socks with chunky sandals – remain common.
Yuan Jing, 35, a bank manager from Sichuan who is visiting for a week with two friends, is a typical high-spending Chinese tourist.
She is staying at the Conrad Centennial hotel because she is “used to five-star hotels”, and just hours off her flight, the first-time visitor is all dolled up and hitting luxury boutiques such as Miu Miu and Marc Jacobs in Orchard Road.
“I don’t have a budget, I’ll buy what I like, especially if it is cheaper than in China,” she said.
Yuan also plans to indulge in local delicacies and fit in a meal at a posh seafood restaurant.
Inbound travel agencies are reporting at least a 20% jump over the past two years in the number of affluent Chinese customers who are mostly free-and-easy travellers.
Similarly, Chinese guests are among the top five foreign nationalities at popular five- and six-star hotels here.
Fine-dining restaurants such as Andre in Bukit Pasoh Road and Waku Ghin at Marina Bay Sands have also seen a steady rise in Chinese diners in the past year.
This mirrors the latest survey of 463 Chinese millionaires and billionaires by Hurun Report, a magazine that monitors China’s wealthy, where Singapore was ranked sixth in a list of top 10 international luxury travel destinations.
Singapore was the only other Asian country besides Japan, which ranked fourth on the list; France came in first.
Travel industry observers, including travel agencies and tourism analysts, say Chinese holidaymakers are drawn to Singapore because it is safe, offers a variety of attractions and they face no language barrier.
Tour guide Liu Jing, 37, who caters to premium Chinese travellers, said the integrated resorts with their myriad entertainment and shopping offerings and the casinos have also attracted curious Chinese travellers and keen gamers.
Chinese visitors spend S$1,200 (RM2,880) each on average, almost 20% more than the average international traveller.
In the first half of this year, they spent S$969mil (RM2.3bil), making them the second-largest spenders after Indonesian visitors, who spent S$1.33bil (RM3.19bil).
High-end retailers interviewed said most well-off Chinese shoppers are no less discerning than sophisticated tourists from other countries.
The women tend to splurge on branded bags, perfumes and clothing while the men go for watches and consumer electronic goods such as phones and cameras.
To draw more big-spending Chinese tourists, the Singapore Tourism Board recently launched a new campaign in China fronted by pop star Stefanie Sun, wooing visitors with the promise of a bespoke travel experience and itineraries that can be easily customised.