Chinese tourists are now the No. 1 shoppers in France.
According to the report released by Global Refund Chinese tourists spent $221 on duty free goods in France. This is only the sum of Chinese tourists spent in French duty free shops. What they spend in other, non-duty free shops is not part of the total.
In Paris, there are nearly 10 duty free shops, and their main business scope includes well known brand perfume, make up, dresses and other fashion goods. Goods in these shops are relatively cheaper (this is a somewhat dubious claim) because they are tax-free.
According to the report, 87% of Chinese tourists’ money was spent on these goods. And 93% of Chinese tourists do their shopping in Paris.
The same applies in other countries in Europe: an example is that Chinese tourists have also become the biggest foreign shopping group in Sweden.
Figures on visitors are not exact. In France Chinese visitors last year were somewhere between 500 and 550 thousand.
According to official statistics, there were 45.84 million people who traveled overseas in 2008, and it is expected to have reached 50 million in 2009. The sum of Chinese tourists’ consumption increased by 20% in 2009.
English People’s Daily.com reported that the Chinese Academy of Tourism said the total amount of China’s consumption abroad would be about $4.2 billion.