According to Los Angeles Times, visitors from China are now the biggest-spending travelers to the U.S.
In all of the U.S. the average spent as a whole by Chinese visitors is $7,105, by Indian visitors is $6,659, by Brazilian visitors is $5,604, and by Japanese visitors is $4,541.
In California alone, Chinese visitors spend an average $2,932, Brazilian visitors spend an average of $2,404, Indian visitors spend an average $1,983, and visitors from Japan spend $1,969. Roughly 33% of their spending goes towards gifts and souvenirs for family and friends. They spend so much that they helped set a record for spending by foreign visits to the U.S. – $168.1 billion in 2012.
Chinese tourists spend mostly on high-end clothes and accessories featured in American movies because steep Chinese taxes make such brands two to three times more expensive in China. In addition, Chinese tourists stock up on vitamins because they are dubious of supplement quality sold in China.
What this means
When I first began living in California, it was busloads of Japanese tourists that drove retail, recreational and tourist spending. This was followed by investors from Japan starting to buy up hotels, office buildings and more. In recent years returning Chinese tourists seem to have sparked a mini-real estate boom on the West Coast as homes are swept up in all-cash offers. Expect an Indian wave of real estate investors soon.
