Luxury hotels worldwide, including the Hilton, are catering to China’s nouveau riche who are increasingly traveling overseas. From the Wall Street Journal blog:
So what does Hilton think Chinese travelers want from a hotel? First: a staffer to help them check into their room in their native Chinese language. Then, once in the room, travelers from China will have access to tea kettles, Chinese tea and slippers as well as a welcome letter in Chinese and TV channels dedicated to Chinese programming. But perhaps most telling is the breakfast buffet: Two varieties of congee, fried noodles, dim sum, fried fritters and soy milk will be on offer. (Scene Asia has also documented Chinese travelers’ breakfast obsession.)
The Chinese travel market is growing strong, and everybody in the travel industry – including state governors and mayors of middling Canadian cities – is trying to grab a share of it. As China becomes increasingly wealthy and as the Chinese government relaxes restrictions on outbound travel, the market has exploded over the past two years – Paris and Shangri-La hotels being the preferred destination and hotel of the Chinese jetset.