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Hurun Report is the Official Media Partner for the fourth year running of the Asia Luxury Travel Mart, the region’s leading showcase for the luxury travel industry, to be held in Shanghai from 14-17 June.
“The Chinese luxury traveler has, almost overnight, blipped onto the radar screens of luxury travel suppliers,” says Hurun Report CEO and founder Rupert Hoogewerf. “The key drivers for Chinese luxury travelers are the fast economic growth of China and the strength of the Renminbi.”
“We are delighted to be working once again with Hurun Report,” said ALTM’s Exhibition Director Debbie Joslin. “Their proven commitment to luxury travel in China, combined with an in-depth understanding of China’s entrepreneurs makes them the natural choice for Official Media Partner of ALTM.”
On the first night of ALTM, Hurun Report will host a cocktail party for selected guests, together with a photo exhibition entitled The World at Their Fingertips: Ecotourism through the lenses of China’s Entrepreneurs. The exhibition will showcase works from seven world-class Chinese entrepreneurs with a passion for eco-travel, including:
– Wang Shi, chairman of Vanke, China’s largest property developer. Wang is a keen mountaineer, who has conquered Mount Everest four times.
– Pan Shiyi, chairman of SOHO China, one of the most charismatic real estate developers in China.
– Huang Nubo, chairman of Zhongkun property. A poet and serious ecotourist, Huang has recently been on a well-documented mission to Antarctica.
– Liu Yonghao, Chairman of New Hope, the largest shareholder of Minsheng Bank and the largest pigfeed producer in China. Liu was the richest man in China in 2002, and is a passionate photographer.
– Du Sha, chairman of Jiashijie private equity firm. Du sold his grocery retailer and commercial real estate ventures in 2007 for over US$1 billion, and now concentrates on golf, photography and travel.
– Luo Hong and Han Guang, Chairman and CEO of Haolilai, a bread maker. Together, they have taken on the preservation of a game reserve in Kenya. Luo is an award-winning photographer.
During the exhibition, Hurun Report will announce the winners of the Hurun Hot Hotels 2010, made up of the best new luxury hotel openings in greater China.
Hurun Report is closely associated with the development of the luxury travel industry in China. Hurun Report’s flagship luxury travel awards are the Presidential Suite Awards, which single out the best presidential suites, executive club lounges, executive club suites and swimming pools for recognition. In the past year, Hurun Report has held awards for Hong Kong, Shanghai, Beijing and Macau.
For wealthy Chinese looking for prestige and status on their travels, opting for the Presidential Suite is an increasingly popular choice. The Hurun Presidential Awards seek to educate and inform them on the quality of the facilities available to them, by creating a unique industry benchmark. Indeed, as Chinese luxury travelers continue to travel abroad in ever increasing numbers, the series is set to go international, with awards planned for Paris and London.
China’s Luxury Tourists
There are 875,000 people with more than RMB 10 million (or USD 1.47 million) in China today, marking a growth of 6.1% on the previous year according to the Hurun Wealth Report 2010, which analyses the number and distribution of China’s wealthy. Travel is their preferred leisure activity and, spurred on by buoyant property prices, the wealthy elite are spending growing amounts of time and money on luxury travel.
Αccording to Hurun Report’s research, wealthy Chinese take an average of 16 days holiday and three foreign trips per year, and they are developing distinct tastes. In terms of destinations, the USA, France and Australia are the clear favourites internationally, whilst Sanya, Yunnan and increasingly, Tibet, are where they prefer to go domestically. For hotels, the Shangri-La, Grand Hyatt and the Hilton find the most favour amongst these increasingly discerning travelers. Nuances in preference also exist according to the precise demographic; for instance, women like Hong Kong more than the men, perhaps unsurprisingly given its reputation as a luxury shopping paradise.
TravelDailyNews Asia-Pacific editorial team has an experience of over 35 years in B2B travel journalism as well as in tourism & hospitality marketing and communications.
