UK Only Article:
standard article
Issue:
The Great Fall of China
Fly Title:
Luxury tourism
Rubric:
The way that the rich travel is changing
Main image:
20150829_IRP001_0.jpg
AT THE Burj Al Arab hotel in Dubai, one of the world’s most luxurious (pictured), guests can avail themselves of 24-carat gold iPads and caviar facials. The cheapest rooms cost $1,000 a night; those interested in the royal suite can expect to pay nearer $25,000. Such ostentation is not to everyone’s taste. But it illustrates a trend: the way that the rich spend their money is changing.
Once, the well-heeled bought fancy stuff. Nowadays they spend more on things to do and see. A report last year by the Boston Consulting Group (BCG) found that of the $1.8 trillion spent on luxury goods and services worldwide in 2012, nearly $1 trillion went on “luxury experiences”. Travel and hotels accounted for around half that figure.
This partly reflects the growing weight of rich folk from developing countries. Wealthy Chinese spend 20 ...
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