Shopping has become an indispensable item for European and American travel

Shopping has become an indispensable item for European and American travel (Alberta Times) The strong purchasing power of tourists makes travel agencies not hesitate to add shopping to the itinerary design, and the most...

(Alberta Times)

The strong purchasing power of tourists makes travel agencies not hesitate to add shopping to the itinerary design. Among them, the most popular are undoubtedly the Cabazon Outlets in Palm Springs in Los Angeles, the Woodbury Outlets in New York, and Union Square in San Francisco. Shopping venues such as Galeries Lafayette and Printemps are home to many international first-line luxury brands. The reporter learned from Beijing travel agencies such as China Travel Service and China Youth Travel Service that shopping abroad has become a major item in the itinerary of Beijing tourists. Cong Ling, manager of the outbound tourism Americas department of China Travel Service, said that the average spending power of short-term tourists in the United States is at least US$1,000, and the per capita consumption of sightseeing tours on the east and west coasts, mainly for the elderly, is at least US$300. Zhang Huiling, manager of the Americas Center of China Youth Travel Service, told reporters that two families once traveled to the United States, and each family purchased more than 200,000 US dollars in goods. The reporter learned that many British media are hotly discussing Chinese tourists’ shopping in the UK during the New Year, describing it as the “Beijing pound”, which is the pound consumed by Chinese people. Data from the World Luxury Goods Association also shows that Chinese people’s luxury goods consumption has ranked first in the world. Recently, the association released a data monitoring report on overseas luxury goods consumption during the Chinese Spring Festival. The data showed that during the Spring Festival, Chinese people spent a total of 7.2 billion US dollars overseas, a record high. The highest consumption was in Europe, accounting for 46%, followed by Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan at 35%, and North America at 19%. The consumption targets were luxury watches, leather goods, fashion, cosmetics and perfumes. In Europe, the main consumption areas for tourists are concentrated in France, Italy, the United Kingdom, and Switzerland. In the United States, the main consumption areas are New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Boston, Hawaii, Chicago, and Washington. The number of merchants using UnionPay cards in the United States has increased. In order to facilitate shopping for Chinese tourists, merchants in European and American countries have launched convenience measures. According to Cong Ling, headquarter of China Travel Service, there were not many merchants that accepted UnionPay cards when the United States first opened up. But today, after a large number of Chinese tourists flocked to the United States, the scope of UnionPay cards has increased. UnionPay cards can be easily accepted in airport duty-free shops, large shopping malls, Macy's department stores, outlets and other places. At the same time, some duty-free shops have also launched discount cards, and you can also enjoy a 10% discount on discounted products. Local member supermarkets in the United States are also open to tourists, and the prices are quite cheap. In addition, foreign stores have also hired Chinese-speaking clerks. Stores on Bond Street in the United Kingdom have Chinese-speaking clerks serve Chinese tourists. Paris Printemps and Galeries Lafayette in France have tax refund points specifically for Chinese, and most of the staff inside are Chinese.