Chinese consumers shopping abroad made nearly half of all the world’s luxury good purchases in 2014, according to Beijing-based private research firm Fortune Character Institute.
These consumers spent a total of 1.2 trillion yuan ($183 billion) outside of China last year, with $116.8 billion of that going toward branded luxury products, reports China Daily.
More than 60 percent of Chinese tourists purchased high-end products abroad and their purchases accounted for 46 percent of global luxury sales.
Wealthy Chinese prefer to purchase luxury items abroad to avoid high tariffs and counterfeits in their own country, reports Asahi Shimbun.
The government said that more 120 million Chinese tourists took trips outside the country in 2014 and their overseas purchases made up at least 12 percent of global spending.
