Overseas luxury consumption by Chinese down 24% in March

Mainland tourists are seen with luxury brand shopping bags in Hong Kong, China, May 17, 2011.[Photo/IC]

As a primary force behind luxury consumption worldwide, Chinese tourists' buying power has recently seen a decline. According to GlobalBlue, a tax return service company, overseas spending on luxury items by Chinese tourists declined 24 percent in March. This is the first time that number has fallen since records started being kept in 2010. In the European market, luxury consumption saw a year-on-year decline of 35 percent in March.

Statistics also show that luxury spending by Chinese tourists in the Asia-Pacific region fell 6 percent from last year. Only Chinese luxury spending in Japan saw an increase.

According to Beijing Business Today, over the same period last year, overseas luxury consumption by Chinese tourists had a growth of 122 percent. According to some analyses, the sharp decline can be attributed to the recent terrorist attacks in Paris and Brussels. Meanwhile, the price difference between luxury goods in China's domestic market and abroad is shrinking, so many Chinese consumers choose to buy luxuries closer to home. GlobalBlue believes the sluggish sales of luxury goods in the European market to Chinese tourists will become a "new normal."

Zhou Ting, a luxury expert, said that the big decline in overseas luxury spending by Chinese tourists is also caused by China's slowing economic growth. Chinese consumers may be cutting expenses in order to cope with the situation.