{"id":13415,"date":"2023-12-09T06:30:54","date_gmt":"2023-12-09T06:30:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/focus.cbbc.org\/?p=13415"},"modified":"2025-04-23T09:04:18","modified_gmt":"2025-04-23T09:04:18","slug":"unlocking-the-consumer-power-of-chinese-new-year","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/focus.cbbc.org\/unlocking-the-consumer-power-of-chinese-new-year\/","title":{"rendered":"Unlocking the Consumer Power of Chinese New Year"},"content":{"rendered":"

On November 30, Hainan Airlines and CBBC hosted an event for businesses hoping to harness the power of the Lunar New Year holiday to lure Chinese consumers back to the UK. The panel consisted of Peter Han, general manager of Hainan Airlines; Alexander Graham, global brand director at Luxe Life; and Arnold Ma, co-founder of Qumin.<\/p>\n

As Celine Tang \u2013 CBBC\u2019s Retail & e-Commerce Sector Lead \u2013 pointed out at the beginning of the session, China\u2019s zero Covid restrictions have been relaxed for almost a year now, but this will be the first Spring Festival holiday where travellers have had enough notice to book a trip overseas during the festival. What\u2019s more, restrictions on group travel for Chinese people have also been lifted in the interim.<\/p>\n

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The big catch? The UK\u2019s decision to end its tax-free shopping scheme for international tourists back in 2021. In other words, where Chinese visitors were previously allowed to claim back the VAT on items purchased during their stay in the country, that is no longer the case. As a result, Tang explains, countries including France and Italy are now more popular destinations for Chinese shoppers, who favour splurging in Paris and Milan over London.<\/p>\n

The burden, therefore, falls on UK businesses to present alternative reasons to choose Britain for a trip, since it has become clear that relying on tax-free shopping as Chinese people\u2019s primary motivation is no longer an option.<\/p>\n

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The panel during the recent CBBC event about unlocking Chinese visitors\u2019 spending power during Chinese New Year<\/p><\/div>\n

One of the UK\u2019s advantages is its strong education sector, with thousands making the trip to see their children who study here during major holidays, or using education research as an excuse to come and check out the country.<\/p>\n

This is where Hainan Airlines comes in, says Peter Han, who points out that unlike other Chinese carriers, Hainan flies to multiple UK cities outside of London, including Manchester, Edinburgh and Dublin. Next year, the airline will double its frequency.<\/p>\n