The scale of luxury and leisure hospitality and China’s HNWI market.

Insights agency Dragon Trail International (DTI) and Dong Luxury Travel Collection, a dedicated provider of B2B luxury travel solutions, have published the Luxury Travel Trends in China White Paper, an in-depth analysis of the Chinese HNWI (high-net-worth individual) travel market that has some lessons for the travel shopping channel.

Based on surveys of more than 200 Chinese HNWIs, 200 luxury travel agents, and 200 luxury hospitality partners – primarily from hotels and resorts, but also the cruise industry – the paper explores who these travellers are in detail. It digs down into what they value most, their preferences, and their motivations when travelling.

From a travel retail perspective, two of the relevant findings are are that a high 77% say they are willing to pay a premium for unique, once in-a-lifetime experiences such as private shopping or exclusive access events; and that shopping sprees were the top of their to-do list after core elements of a trip such as city sightseeing, going to the beach, food and wine, and wellness.

Exclusive and VIP experiences count.

On the downside, travel agents said that shopping along with sustainability were the least important factors when choosing a destination, with accommodation, climate and scenery coming top. The report stated: “Chinese luxury travellers are far more likely to be seeking elevated, comfortable environments than shopping sprees.”

However, building in elevated retail experiences once the core factors have been taken care of could be a way to tap into HNWIs’ spending capacity. According to China Trading Desk’s, Q1 2026 outbound sentiment survey, the average propensity to shop in airport retail is 64.3%, whereas for HNWIs this jumps to 76%.

AI personalisation is also a way to engage. Jackie Hoo, General Manager of Ilma, The Ritz-Carlton Yacht Collection, says: “Digital guest profiles may help anticipate preferences, but it is the personal interactions that transform that knowledge into a memorable experience.” Rosewood Hong Kong’s Hugo Montanari suggests that “a hotel can equip its concierge and butlers with AI-driven insights about a guest’s past stays and social media interests so that the staff can surprise them with a favourite dessert or a tailored shopping itinerary”.

What Chinese HNWIs want

Top destinations for Chinese HNWIs.

Below are some key findings from the white paper, some of which are also transferable to travel retail:

• Travel is a spending priority for Chinese HNWIs. A high 85% of survey respondents plan to increase their spending on travel in the coming year, followed by health and wellness (55%).
• High demand for international travel. Nearly half (49%) prefer it over domestic travel, and just 8% say they would rather travel domestically. Ranking destinations, Japan is the stand-out leader, followed by Singapore, the Maldives, Italy, Thailand, France, Australia, New Zealand, Switzerland, and Indonesia.
• Authenticity is the buzzword. This is especially true for younger Chinese travellers, while demand for in-depth cultural experiences has also risen, with 71% of HNWIs craving these. Some 77% were willing to pay a premium for unique, once-in-a-lifetime experiences.
• Personalisation is highly valued. Luxury hospitality partners were most likely to highlight personalised amenities as the most effective strategy for their Chinese HNWIs, followed by customised itineraries and bespoke activities.
• HWNI travellers want privacy and exclusivity. Some 70% cite these as crucial to their travel choices, and 75% say they value access to exclusive experiences. Privacy is especially important when travelling with children or as multi-generational family groups. They value private villas, private entrances, and closed-door visits to shops.
• Service needs to be localised – linguistically and culturally. While experienced HNW travellers are comfortable communicating in English, more than half of luxury travel agents and hospitality partners say that Mandarin-speaking staff are either critical or very important.
• Wellness is an emerging trend. For Chinese HNWIs, this is not just spa treatments, but long-term wellbeing and longevity, bespoke wellness journeys, and holistic approaches to address stress, insomnia, anxiety, and emotional fatigue.
• Chinese HNWIs are sceptical about AI. Just 30% are comfortable using AI-powered chatbots, with 39% saying they are not keen. There are misgivings about AI’s ability to provide the warmth of human service, and they see chatbots and robot room service as low-budget.

The white paper said there is consensus that China’s luxury travel market will continue to grow. Some 60% of luxury travel agents point to moderate growth over the next five years, with another 19% forecasting significant growth. However, 9% forecast a market decline, though 8% of these say it will be moderate. Luxury hospitality partners were more optimistic, with 78% forecasting growth, and less than 4% foreseeing a decline in the next five years.

Sienna Parulis-Cook, Director of Marketing and Communications at DTI, and lead author of the white paper, said: “This analysis goes far beyond merely understanding Chinese HNW travellers in theory. It outlines how to approach the Chinese luxury market through both B2C and B2B channels, with detailed advice on social media content strategies and navigating relationships with the Chinese travel trade.”

[DTI will hold a webinar to introduce the report’s key findings on Tuesday, 12 May at 4pm Singapore Standard Time. You can register here.]

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