WSJ : Chinese Are Traveling More but Shopping Less

Chinese Are Traveling More but Shopping Less

Zhiyuan Zhuang, an assistant store manager at a Bottega Veneta shop in Milan, remembers the boom times through 2012, when the first wave of Chinese shoppers were a ray of sunlight amid the gloomy European economy. “We used to have older clients accompanied by their translators who would buy without thinking as if they were not spending their money,” Mr. Zhuang said.

“They have disappeared now,” he added. “Now we are seeing more young couples who pick and choose.”

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Almost 100 million Chinese took trips abroad last year, accounting for 9% of international trips outside China, according to the World Tourism Organization. They outspent travelers from other countries, accounting for 27% of the value of all tax-refund claims made in 2013 with Global Blue, which processes refunds at airports for shoppers visiting from abroad.

But the shopping craze is losing its momentum. Tax-refund claims by Chinese tourists in Europe grew just 18% in 2013, compared with 57% in 2012, said Global Blue.

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Luxury-goods sellers and industry analysts give different reasons for the weakness. They cite Beijing’s anticorruption campaign, the strong euro and tension between Hong Kong and mainland China, which is keeping tourists away and hurting luxury-goods sales in the Chinese territory.