China’s silver travel market is booming. As affluent, tech-savvy seniors embrace AI, cruises, and premium hotels, brands and travel marketers must rethink experience design and engagement.

As global travel retail continues its post-pandemic recovery, China Duty Free Group (CDFG) has released its 2024–2025 Consumption Whitepaper, offering a detailed snapshot of how Chinese consumer behaviour, policy reform, and digital innovation are reshaping the global duty-free landscape. Beyond CDFG’s performance, the findings illustrate the broader transformation of China’s premium consumption ecosystem, with implications for brands, retailers, and tourism partners alike.

Golden Week 2025 marks a turning point in Chinese outbound travel. As younger travellers drive demand for experience-based tourism, visa-free policies fuel exploration, and brands shift from selling products to selling emotions.

China’s outbound travel behaviour in October reveals an increasingly diverse mix of motivations and spending patterns. Across major digital platforms, travellers expressed new values shaped by spontaneity, social connection, and consumption-led exploration — all pointing to how Chinese tourism is evolving beyond sightseeing into lifestyle expression.

China’s business travel is entering a phase of strategic, regionally focused recovery. The Report reveals that companies are shifting from frequent trips to purposeful travel centred on Asia, particularly Hong Kong, Macau, Japan, and Southeast Asia. Large firms drive cross-border coordination, while SMEs focus on agile partnerships. Despite ongoing challenges like visas and language barriers, Chinese enterprises are redefining travel as a strategic tool for governance, collab

China’s advertising industry in 2025 is driven by diversification, innovation, and a renewed emphasis on long-term brand equity. Entertainment and leisure lead sectoral growth with a 53.1% surge, followed by telecommunications (45%) and transportation (32.5%), reflecting strong consumer demand for connectivity and experiences. Brands are investing more in product launches, with spending rising to 35% of ad budgets, highlighting the pull of novelty and emotional engagement. Ar

China’s Gen Z is redefining online shopping with their digital-first mindset and demand for personalisation, social commerce, and immersive experiences. Growing up with mobile payments and social platforms, they see shopping as identity, lifestyle, and community. With US$360 billion in spending power, their influence is transforming China’s e-commerce, pushing brands to adapt with innovation, cultural relevance, and trust-driven engagement. From livestream shopping to Xiaohon

China’s luxury market is entering a new era—where wealth is no longer about showing off, but about living with meaning. With high-net-worth households growing nearly tenfold since 2010, affluent consumers from Gen Z to the silver generation are redefining what “premium” truly means. They seek authenticity, wellness, cultural pride and timeless style over flashy logos. From immersive travel and wellness-driven skincare to sustainable investments and quiet luxury fashion.

Luxury in China is entering a new phase marked by caution and change. Consumers are increasingly price-sensitive, comparing costs, seeking discounts, and turning to cross-border shopping — with Japan emerging as a key destination. Affordable substitutes are reshaping traditional luxury categories, while domestic brands gain momentum through cultural resonance and accessible pricing. Younger generations are redefining luxury, placing greater value on travel, wellness, and life