October 3, 2016
China's Golden Week is Oct. 1-7, 2016
British real estate is poised to be the winner during China’s Golden Week this year, with a 46 percent increase in enquiry rates on listed properties prior to the holiday, according to Investorist.
During the week-long holiday that takes place in China during the first week of October, a rush of Chinese buyers are expected to travel to the United Kingdom to purchase property. Manchester and London are likely to be the prime locations for real estate purchases during the holiday.
"The second Golden Week of the year, held at the start of October, is the ideal time for Chinese investors to visit the countries they plan to purchase properties in," said Jon Ellis, CEO of Investorist. "It's an incredibly busy time for all those with Chinese buyers - demand rises sharply and companies need to have plans in place to respond to a surge of enquiries over the course of Golden Week and the weeks that follow."
Golden week
Golden Week in China is a week-long holiday in which residents get paid leave, similar to the United States' Labor Day, but for an extended period of time. The holiday incites a surge of overseas travel and retail sales.
The China Tourism Academy reported that more than 589 million Chinese tourists will be taking trips during the week of Oct. 1-7. It is expected that many tourists will combine business with pleasure and make property purchases overseas, which has prompted a swell in real estate prices.
Popular travel destination in China
Chinese real estate purchases in London will support the British capital's recent growth. Hope is on the horizon for London's real estate market following Brexit, with a 22.1 percent rise in the number of new prospective buyers, according to real estate consultancy Knight Frank.
Knight Frank's Prime Central London Sales Index for August revealed the increase in interest since the European Union referendum compared to 2015. Buyers’ interests in the area are growing despite the dramatization of Brexit, with users viewing listings online 20.8 percent more since last year (see more).
A significant amount of the tourism is likely to consist of trips to the U.S., with a 22 percent increase last year in the number of Chinese visitors during Golden Week, as reported by Jing Daily. The increase is likely to continue on into 2016, as a new U.S. visa is available for Chinese Nationals for 10 years.
However, that hardly compares to the growth in Chinese tourists visiting Japan, climbing close to an almost 100 percent increase in 2015. Visitors from China spent about $830 million with 400,000 tourists in Japan.
Japan duty free ginza
This year, travel during Golden Week is likely to outperform last year as the volatile stock market has settled down. Last year, 4 million Chinese tourists traveled abroad, but this year that number is likely to significantly increase.
Type of travel
It is likely during Golden Week that wellness travel will continue to spike.
Wellness tourism is projected for an 11 percent compound annual growth rate through 2020, according to Technavio analysts.
For Technavio’s Global Wellness Tourism Market 2016-2020 Report, wellness tourists are split into two groups, with primary wellness tourists traveling entirely for wellness purposes and secondary wellness tourists indulging in wellness-related activities but planning travel for other reasons. Primary wellness tourists traveling internationally outspend the average international tourist by at least 60 percent, signaling a growing and valuable revenue stream for hotels (see more).
"It's the most exciting time of the year for working with Chinese property buyers - large numbers of deals are set up and deals done in this single week," Mr.Ellis said. "In fact our statistics show a 46% increase in enquiry rates for properties listed on the Investorist site in the lead up to Golden Week"
Share your thoughts. Click here
