Chinese CEOs Book Their Own Room at the Shangri-La

Currently, there are almost one million millionaires in China (Previous blog on who are the China's wealthiest?).  With all this new found money, where are they spending it?  According to Business Insider, Chinese spent more money on luxury goods than Europe and the U.S. combined (click here for article).  Last year emerging Asia accounted for around 50% of global luxury sales, most of which came from China.

The Chinese are not only very practical people, but also they place high emphasis on culture of "face". It is no surprise these millionaires are buying up half of world's tangible luxury goods such as cars, jewelry, and fashion.  These are all things that can give a person a lot of face.  In terms of entertainment or service based purchases, these millionaires like spend money on travel, golf and yoga.  Travel is their favourite method of relaxation.  According to most recent Hurun Report, the most popular destinations include France, USA and Australia.  Canada unfortunately didn't even make top 10! Tourism Canada has a lot of work to do. Annually, on average they make three international trips, spend approximately 190,000 RMB (31,000USD) on travel and 160,000 RMB (26,000USD) on shopping.  Hurun wasn't able to clearly separate any stats between business and leisure travel.  The feedback from the millionaires often was that leisure travel is mixed in with business travel.  From my personal experience I feel if the millionaire's family resides in China primarily, his/her family or leisure trips are often to domestic destinations such as Sanya, Hong Kong or Yunan.

The thing that surprised me the most was that 57% of these millionaires and billionaires book their own hotel and make their own itinerary through mostly travel websites rather then utilizing premium travel professionals. After some thought, I am actually not surprised.  As I mentioned earlier the Chinese are very practical people, therefore it is important that the "product" that they receive has to fit the price.  The major tangible products within the travel service industry are hotel and air.  Everything else or what I like to call "creation of the ultimate experience" is a bit of a fuzzy area in terms of its value.  It is not that the Chinese millionaires don’t appreciated it; they are still not yet very familiar with this concept and not sure of its value since it is not tangible.  If they are unsure of the value of the service, it will be hard for them to trust others to provide them the service for the value.

Faye's Top Ten Travel Tips - Part II

Continuing from my last post:

These are for during the trip:

6. Toilets. One too many cervesa at lunch? I hate looking for a bathroom when I need one, but I am more fearful of disgusting bathrooms. Especially in developing countries, going to the toilet is not just an adventure, it can be a nightmare.  When in a jam, my go to places are fast food restaurants such as McDonalds, KFC or Burger King.  9 out of 10 times they will be close to western expectations: a sit-down toilet and free toilet paper.  Bonus tip: always bring toilet paper in your day pack.

7. Finding accommodation. Not every cities around the world will have your favourite hotel chain. I actually prefer boutique local hotels, they tend to be more unique and interesting.  The downside is that unlike major hotel chains you might not get what you expected. Website such as Trip Advisors and Booking.com do a nice job of showing pictures and customer feedback on boutique hotels but there is still never a guarantee unless you are there to see it for yourself.  I prefer to book only the first night and book subsequent nights directly with the hotel based on the first night experience. Most of the time, the hotel will honour the same rate and depending how long the stay, a better rate can even be negotiated.  A few years ago when I traveled to Phuket and had booked at a hotel that was right on the beach, however the hotel turned out to be very noisy. Phuket was surrounded by variety of hotels. We just walked around the area. In no time, we found another tucked away and much nicer hotel.

8. Language. The easiest way to bridge cultural gaps is through language of course.  My must learn words when I travel are Hello, Thank You, Please and Bathroom. Any other phrases, I recommended learning whatever you are interested in.  I love to shop and negotiation is part of the fun so I always make sure I learn how to say "How much?" and the numbers (or bring a pocket calculator :p).  I also like to find out what the shortest possible way to say something is.  Russia was probably the most difficult country to travel through language wise.  Most of the time we had a private guide with us but when ventured out on our own and if we were really stuck communicating, we would find the nearest luxury hotel. Good chance someone who works there will speak some English.

9. Experience the people, not just the sites.  The ruins, parks, or museums are normally what we travel thousands of miles to see, but to me sometimes the people are the most interesting. I try to not just interact within my own group.  In Russia some of our best memories were chatting with a group of students who were volunteering for the Sochi Olympics at a local dive bar.  We even shared Russian food and vodka on the train with the co-conductor and his friends who didn't speak a word of English. I was surprised at how much a mixture of just gestures and sounds helped me understand the local culture so much better.

I also like talking to other travelers, especially those who are traveling for really long periods of time (ie: over 6 months).  They are usually the second best source of information and recommendations.

10. Take a vacation during travel. First of all, travel and vacation are different things.  A lot of us use our vacation days to travel and most of time, need a vacation after the travel.  Travel can be so exciting, but also can be demanding on your body.  I eat whatever I want when I travel and still would lose weight.  I always make sure I take my multivitamins and a mini-vacation during my travels.  In South East Asia, I sat on a beach in Phuket for a few days in between Angkor Wat and Petronas Towers.  In Africa, I sat on another beach in Zanzibar in between Simien Mountain and Masai Mara. In South America, I ended on a yacht in the Galapagos after 2 weeks in the freezing Bolivian salt field and breath taking (literally) Machu Picchu .  Not to mention, a trip or two or three to the spa for a foot or body massage during the trip is a must (China was the best for that)!

Faye's Top Ten Travel Tips - Part I

I have been back from South America for exactly 1 month now but my brain is still on the road. I miss the feeling of wondering what is next around the corner when I wake up the morning, when I step out of a tax,i or when I turn at the next the corner.  The joy of travel is the anticipation of the unknown.  But the unknown sometimes can bring unnecessary headaches.  Over the years, traveling based on certain amount of unknown has been a routine for me and I thought I would share some of my travel tips.

Starting with before the trip begans:

1. Pack zip lock bags.  A friend of mine packs everything in zip lock bags when she travels.  She said this way she can pack a lot more in, not to mention keeps everything dry.  I will never have the discipline to keep everything organized in bags through the entire trip. However, I made sure I kept all my documents and dirty clothes (so it doesn't contaminate the clean clothes) in zip lock bags.  My friend also recommends to put fabric softener sheets in the dirty cloth bags.  The zip lock bag even saved my iPhone.  I spilled water on it and the hotel kitchen gave me a handful of rice which I put them in the bag with my phone to "suck" out the moisture.

There are other essential items I pack before my travel.

• Compact power bar - so my iPad, camera and phone can be charged all at the same time.
• Wet wipes - for those times you can't find a bathroom to wash your hands
• Tide to go sticks - I no longer fear packing white shirts!

Compact Power Bar

Actually, I keep most of these items in a big bag and store them where I can gain easy access to. When it is time to pack for my trips, I just take the bag out and dump them in my luggage.

2. Research taxi details. Not a lot of people think about this before hand.  This is an important one especially when traveling to a developing country. Taxi services are not always regulated.  In a lot of cases, it is just a guy with a unmetered car and slapped on a "TAXI" sign.  Many tourism related crimes are committed involving a cab. From not negotiating before getting in and ending up with an astronomical fare to more serious crimes of being robbed by the driver are sure ways to ruin a trip.  When you just got off a long flight and all you want to do is get in a cab to get to your hotel you are not going to want to research cab details in between.  Therefore, it is best to do research before your trip. I really like this website called "I Hate Taxis" which lists general rate information, common taxi crimes, and another other major transportation information to get you from and to an airport and major interest points.

3. US Dollars $$$. As a Canadian who loves everything Canadian, I still travel with US dollars. I think this is not shocking information to anyone that the US dollar is the easiest to exchange worldwide (except for Cuba).  However, different country have their own quirks on what type of bills they will accept.  As a rule of thumb, make sure the US bills are in perfect conditions. Most, if not all, countries will not accept US bills with dirt, rips (even a tiny one), or are defaced.  The date on the bills matters too.  Some countries will not accept bills before 2000 even if they are in perfect condition.  While traveling through South America, bills with serial number begins with CB are routinely refused.  I am still not sure why.

When receiving currencies whether it is from a bank, exchange bureau or even getting change from a vendor, I always make sure to check the bills too.  Don't accept any damaged or old bills and always ask for different denomination of bills (small bills for tips).
   

4. Leave room for souvenirs.  When packing for a trip, I always make sure I don't pack my bags to the rim because I always seem to come back with more stuff than I came with.  For my South America trip, I had to pack summer and winter clothes and my bags were stuffed so I packed a couple of foldable grocery bags which I used to carry souvenirs onto the plane home.

5. Photocopy documents. This one is simple, but an important one to stress. Make colour photocopies of all important document such as passport, driver's license and marriage license.  I also take the time to scan an electronic copy and email them to myself and my emergency contact (spouse or parents). 

To Be Continued...