Chinese travelers and luxury shopping in Europe.

Abstract

Chinese outbound tourism is a relatively young phenomenon, which brought and will bring in the following years, deep changes in the Chinese society and economy. In Mao’s era, only politicians and businessman could visit far and unknown places, while common citizens could not even explore the neighbor countries. The 80’s can be considered as a turning point in the Chinese history, thanks to the Open Door policy promoted by Deng Xiaoping, China began to be recognized by other countries, and, step by step, began its journey towards the international scene. Tourism is an important part of a country’s economy and society, it is one of the strongest marks the globalization is leaving, and it plays a crucial role in developing sentiments of tolerance and appreciation. When it comes to Chinese tourism, it is essential to take in consideration many factors which differentiate this phenomenon from the same one in different countries. Tourism in China, has undergone different and quite slow stages of development, in the early 80’s Chinese people began to travel to the former colonies, Hong Kong and Macao, to visit their relatives; after a while, it became common to take trips in the neighbor countries, and only in the late 90’s Chinese people became familiar with outbound tourism. This phenomenon and its development are considered as crucial for the development of the international economy, since the number of Chinese who decide to travel is higher than any other nationality, so they actually have a great impact on the nations that welcome them. In this thesis, I analyzed the development of Chinese outbound tourism, underlining the impact that it has on the luxury market worldwide, along with the new trends and ways of travelling that are becoming common among youngsters.