NAOMI NG NAOMI.NG@SCMP.COM
PUBLISHED : Thursday, 05 November, 2015, 12:52pm
UPDATED : Thursday, 05 November, 2015, 12:53pm
Hong Kong’s super rich take an average of five trips per year, and spend around US$11,000 on leisure trips. Photo: SCMP Pictures
Hong Kong’s super-rich spend almost double the average of their Asian counterparts on travel despite recent economic woes, a survey found.
Financial investments and luxury consumption also continued to rise consistently for a third of Hong Kong’s top earning population, including those who have a monthly household income of at least US$15,000 and those in top management, according to research by French-based market research company Ipsos.
Hong Kong’s super rich take an average of five trips per year, and spend around US$11,000 on leisure trips, almost twice the wealthy Asian average of US$6,500.
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“It all boils down to Hong Kong’s affluent, who love to spend money,” said Claire Lui, Executive Director of Ipsos Connect.
“Even in the past when there was [Severe acute respiratory syndrome], or the global financial crisis, we typically don’t see a major impact on the affluent population.”
The Ipsos Affluent Asia survey studies consumer habits, lifestyle and media consumption among Asia’s wealthy population across 13 cities. Some 1,755 Hongkongers took the survey in the past year among a total of 19,045 respondents.
Hong Kong luxury retailers have suffered after the city saw a decline in numbers of mainland Chinese visitors following China’s stock market crash and currency devaluation, with many worrying that their business would continue to suffer.
But Lui said Hong Kong ranked at the top when it came to ownership of luxury items such as watches and jewellery and that it should signal retailers to focus on locals instead of incoming mainland tourists.
“It’s not the end of the world. We see a lot of potential in the local affluent population, and marketers should revamp their strategy,” she said.
http://m.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/education-community/article/1875891/what-crisis-super-rich-hongkongers-spend-double
