HANGZHOU - The fall of the euro against the yuan has prompted more Chinese to travel to European countries, as they look to pick up luxury brands on the cheap.
Li Yaoyi, resident of Hangzhou, capital of Zhejiang province, has just finished a fruitful trip. "A 1,000-euro ($1,260.85) purse now costs about 8,000 yuan ($1,180.27), which is about 1,400 yuan cheaper according to the converted price paid for the commodity in the same period last year."
Louis Vuitton, Omega and some other luxury brands now cost less in Europe than in Hong Kong or Macao, two other popular Chinese destinations for shopping trips, Li said.
Shopping trips to European countries before September have mostly been booked out through major travel agencies in large east China cities where demand is highest.
The number of shopping trips to Europe in July and August will increase by 20 to 30 percent from the same period last year, said Wang Fang, deputy manager of Shanghai Jinjiang International Travel Co.
The prices of trips to major European countries have all jumped by more than 10 percent since June, said Chen Xin'an, marketing director of the Zhejiang branch of China Travel Service Group.
Shopping trips are getting more popular as the euro continues to weaken, Chen said. The euro has fallen by nearly 20 percent against the yuan since the end of 2009.
