On December 12, America Express, a world leading company in tourism industry, released the result of a survey, which shows that China's rich people have different style of travel based on their locations.

The survey was carried out from August to September with the help of Synovate China. A total of 1,200 people from eight Chinese metropolises, including Beijing and Xi'an in north China, Shanghai and Hangzhou in east China, Guangzhou and Shenzhen in south China, Shenyang in northeast China, and Chengdu in southwest China. All the interviewees have incomes ranking among the top 10 percent of the city they reside.  

The survey shows that 77 percent of high-end travelers do shopping when traveling. Shenzhen travelers spend 1,444 yuan (US$180) averagely in shopping, accounting for 19 percent of all their travel expenses and ranking the first among the eight cities, while travelers from Beijing spend the least, with only 760 yuan (US$95) in average, and it accounts for 10 percent of the travel expenses.
 
Of the interviewees, 14 percent traveled out of the Chinese mainland during the last 12 months. Of those from Guangzhou, 45 percent travelers have made outbound tours, ranking the highest among the eight cities, possibly due to their geographic convenience. Meanwhile, less than 10 percent of travelers from inland cities like Beijing, Shenyang, Xi'an and Chengdu have toured overseas. 

The survey shows that transportation and accommodation form the main portion of the travel expenditures, averaging 48 percent. For this section, rich travelers from Hangzhou spend 57 percent, the highest, while those from Shenzhen spend 37 percent, the lowest.

For food, those from Shenyang, Guangzhou and Beijing spend the most, the daily expenditure averaging 218 yuan, 201 yuan and 191 yuan (US$27.5, 25, 24) respectively. Rich travelers from Shenyang spend as much as 20 percent of their travel expenses on food, topping all the others.

Travelers from different cities prefer different transportation tools when make domestic tours. 

Nearly half of the interviewees from Beijing, Shenyang and Xi'an choose train as their main means of transportation, while travelers from Shanghai, Guangzhou, Shenzhen and Chengdu prefer traveling by air.

Meanwhile, coach and long-distance-bus also play an important role for travelers from Guangzhou and Chengdu, among whom 34 percent choose this kind of vehicles. 

When talking about the future, 80 percent interviewees are optimistic about their incomes. In total, 47 percent of them expect more tours in the next year; 67 percent travelers from Xi'an and 61 percent from Shenzhen expect more domestic tours, while only 25 percent of the Guangzhou travelers believe they will travel more in the next year.  

Among the interviewees, 66 percent would have a budget for their next year's tour plan. Shenzhen travelers plan to pay an average of 15,517 yuan (US$1,940) in traveling, leading the interviewees far ahead.

Rich travelers from Shenyang are to expend 13 percent of their yearly incomes in traveling, while those from Guangzhou, Beijing, and Shanghai plan to pay only 5 percent, 7 percent, and 8 percent of their incomes for tours.

Among all interviewees, 80 percent think they are "too busy" to travel, and the percentage for rich people from Shenyang and Chengdu, the lowest among the eight cities, is 68.

About half of the interviewees, 45 percent, express their unwillingness to sacrifice their leisure time for working. Only 1 percent of them said they have been working during most of the weekends, while the majority spends their weekends together with their families. 

Restaurants are the most frequently visited places for leisure time, the survey shows. Among those from Hangzhou, 65 percent take restaurants for relaxation, while only 15 percent interviewees from Chengdu, a place famous for its savory food style, favor restaurants for leisure time; on the contrary, 27 percent of them prefer teahouses and coffee bars.

The survey shows the rich from Shanghai prefer houses while Beijingers prefer cars. More than half of the rich from Shanghai possess two or more apartments, while 42 percent of the rich from Beijing have private cars.

It also shows that most Chinese rich prefer domestic travels; 36 percent of the interviewees are fond of visiting Beijing, Sanya and Guilin, China's hottest destinations; 20 percent choose other Asian countries, while 17 percent prefer Europe and 10 percent favor the United States.

The survey also shows the rich have become more independent in traveling; 54 percent said they don't need tour guide, of which, 34 percent prefer self-help tour products.

When the interviewees were asked how many companions they prefer to have in traveling, 55 percent said they prefer to travel with two or three companions, of which, 28 percent chose two and 27 percent chose three. Among the interviewees, 39 percent of those having children prefer to travel together with their families, while 41 percent of those without children prefer to travel with a partner. Only 8 percent of the interviewees chose traveling with 6-plus companies and 7 percent chose traveling alone.

It's the first time that American Express initiates such kind of survey to investigate the trends and needs of the high-class travelers in China. 

(China.org.cn by Wang Zhiyong, December 29, 2005)