A regulation will be made to help foreign experts participate in national science and technology programs. (Photo : Getty Images)
It's not just the Chinese who are experiencing prosperity thanks to this year's Spring Festival. Retails from the world over are also thriving due to the increasing number of Chinese travelers, according to a report by China Daily.
As more Chinese consumers get rich, the more their wanderlust grows.
More and more wealthy Chinese are traveling abroad for the Spring Festival, which adds another month of shopping to the usual season.
A mall in Costa Mesa, California, was able to rake in $1.7 billion in sales last year. The South Coast Plaza, considered as the highest grossing mall in the United States last year, enjoyed a prosperous shopping season which started after Thanksgiving and continued well into the Chinese New Year celebrations.
Big designer brands like Balenciaga and Carolina Herrera dressed their mannequins with scarlet red dresses to entice Chinese customers. Meanwhile, Dolce & Gabbana released a limited-edition, monkey-print shirt sold exclusively at South Coast Plaza.
It's not unusual for malls in the United States to cater to their Asian-American or Asian customers, but South Coast Plaza is looking to attract more customers from mainland China.
The mall started courting China in the early 2000s, before foreign tourism boomed in the country. South Coast Plaza was the first mall in the U.S. to accept Chinese UnionPay bank cards. It's all well and good for the shopping center, as Chinese consumers make up 30 percent of the world's luxury goods market.
The Japanese economy is also benefitting as Chinese tourists spent an average of $2,393 in the country last year, according to the Japan Tourism Agency. This represents 40 percent of total consumption made by foreigners in Japan in 2015.
According to the Chinese government, there will be about 2.91 billion trips that will take place over the course of the Spring Festival's 40-day travel season.
The peak of these overseas visits will take place over the weeklong holiday season, with tourists estimated to reach approximately 6 million, said Ctrip, a major online travel site. This record high indicates a 15-percent increase compared to the total number of overseas visits by Chinese tourists over last year's Spring Festival travel season.
