US malls feature Chinese New Year red

San Francisco, Feb. 22——Lantern Festival officially ends Chinese New Year, while the celebration continues with red lanterns aglow at the market street in San Francisco.

Driving on the strip street in Las Vegas, people may see a big screen with the zodiac of monkey and red Chinese characters “Good luck and Happy New Year” shinning high on the Bellagio hotel.

T-shirts printed with the sign of the monkey are sold in U.S. iconic retailer Macy’s in San Francisco. On its website, the retail store also celebrates the holiday in Chinese and English against the red background that “The fireworks may be over, but a promising year is just beginning.” Outlets, the great shopping center in the United States, not only accept China UnionPay but also offer a free discount booklet for those who show the Chinese bank card.

At this time of year, many US malls feature Chinese Lunar New Year celebrations to attract a rapidly-growing base of wealthy Chinese tourists spending serious retail money abroad.

Ying Wang, a Chinese student in Southern California, said that it is the second year his parents traveling to the United States to spend Chinese New Year with him. “We visited different cities in America. They always fill their suitcases with souvenirs and products, mainly clothes and cosmetics,” he said.

His mother joked “We come here with assignments”, which means they have shopping lists from their relatives and friends in China. “Someone want a specific brand’s handbag, someone wants some GNC supplements, while others want branded clothes.”

“I think Chinese Lunar New Year is like Thanksgiving for America. Everyone goes home where they grew up. I saw crazy pictures of train stations that China has a huge migration during the holiday,” Riley told the reporter. What’s more impressive and realistic to the salesperson is that “The holiday is an astounding display of consumption by Chinese traveling to the United States.”

Data provided by the Los Angeles Tourism board shows a 40% increase in air bookings from Chinese visitors to L.A. during the three-week Spring Festival travel window.

Six million Chinese tourists traveled abroad during this year’s weeklong holiday, spending a record-setting 90 billion yuan overseas, followed by Americans and Britons, according to statistics by the China Tourism Academy and travel booking site Ctrip.

Although domestic luxury consumption in China fell 2% due to the economic slowdown, luxury purchases abroad jumped 10%, according to the consulting firm Bain & Company. Shopping tourism from China increased 32% in 2015 from the previous year.

A young Chinese couple in Las Vegas told the reporter that easier visa applications, frequent flight to destinations, growing purchasing power, as well as domestic chaotic mass immigration and empty metropolitans have pushed them to travel abroad during the new year holiday.