LONDON—Luxury goods have enjoyed a heady recovery in Europe from the dark days of 2009, and the good news looks set to continue into Christmas, with sales boosted by spending from Chinese tourists.
But retailers caution that if the euro climbs sharply, some of that retail strength could diminish.
Global sales in the luxury market—which includes such high-end goods as apparel, handbags, watches and cosmetics—declined 8% last year, according to consulting firm Bain & Co. Sales and earnings have surged since then, as have stock prices. The Dow Jones Luxury Index, which …

2.5 million
That’s how many Chinese tourists visited Western Europe this year, up from 2 million in 2009. With their buying power bolstered by about a 10 percent rise in the yuan against the euro this year, visitors are snapping up luxury goods that sell for less in Paris than in Shanghai. Mainland Chinese spent $23.4 billion last year on high-end handbags and suitcases, shoes, watches, jewelry, clothes, cosmetics and perfumes, according to Bain & Co., and more than half of that was purchased overseas.
Source: SFGate

Taiwanese government officials said the the country will welcome its 5 millionth visitor by the end of the month, a sign of how far the tiny island has grown in prominence on the tourism stage.
Taiwan’s premier Wu-Den-yih said that the 5 millionth arrival will be a “magic number” for Taiwan, which expects to welcome a total of between 5.3 and 5.5 million visitors in total this year.
The country has set itself ambitious tourism targets, aiming for a whopping six million visitors in 2011, with China accounting for a growing proportion …

Chinese tourists visiting Switzerland can now use their credit cards to pay for goods and services thanks to a deal announced on Wednesday.
SIX Multipay, Switzerland’s biggest provider of systems for card-based payments, said it had concluded an agreement with China’s only bank card organisation, China UnionPay.
According to a statement issued by SIX Multipay, there are currently about 2.1 billion China UnionPay cards in circulation.
“Merchants that decide to accept UnionPay cards gain access to considerable sales potential: the number of overnight stays by Chinese guests in Switzerland – according to the …

The Euro has depreciated nearly 20 percent against the Yuan since 2009 – which means Chinese are planning trips to Europe to buy name brands at a “discounted” price. Name brands, such as Louis Vuitton, a Chinese favorite, are now cheaper in Europe than on the mainland including Hong Kong, an otherwise very popular place to shop for the pricey goods. According to an avid shopper, Li Yaoyi, “A 1,000-euro purse now costs about 8,000 yuan, which is about 1,400 yuan cheaper according to the converted price paid for the …

Only a few weeks after finalizing its Approved Destination Status (ADS), Canada has already ranked the third most popular tourist destination among Chinese looking to travel abroad, according to a survey released Monday.
In a telephone poll of 1,080 people living in Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou, the “Research Report on China’s Outbound Tourism Market” found Australia the most desired destination of prospective Chinese travelers, followed by Singapore and Canada.
The report was conducted jointly by the Vancouver-based SUCCESS Foundation, EMR International and the Asia Pacific Foundation of Canada,
Japan ranked fourth, just ahead …

A five-month survey in China has found, despite the global financial crisis, 56.6 percent of the surveyed are maintaining plans for trips to Europe during the next two years.
France, Italy, Switzerland, Greece and Britain are the top five destinations.
The survey, co-conducted by the Beijing-based K&D Consulting Co. Ltd and a number of European tourism bureaus and travel agencies, covered 14, 391 qualified samples.
About 44.5 percent said the downturn would not have any impact on their Europe-bound tours. Only 25.2 percent expressed concern about the crisis, and would change their plans …