If you happen to work at a New York hotel or drive a taxi around the streets of Paris, it’s time you learnt your ‘Ni hao’ and ‘Xie xie’; the Chinese are not just on their way, they have arrived. Overtaking the Germans when it comes to holidaying abroad, the Chinese have become the biggest spenders in the travel market, spending a whopping 102 billion USD in 2012, as per a report by the United Nations World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO). This is 41 percent more than what they spent on international travel in 2011.

Owning not just to a stronger Yuan but also factors like higher disposable incomes, relaxation of restrictions on foreign travel by the government and a burgeoning middle class, the Chinese have jumped to the first place, leaving behind both Germany and the United States. The Chinese made 83 million international trips in 2012, growing from 10 million in 2000. Russia is the only country to have come close to the Chinese growth figures, with a 32 percent increase in travel spendings from last year. Commenting on the stats from these two fast-growing economies, UNWTO Secretary-General Taleb Rifai said, “The impressive growth of tourism expenditure from China and Russia reflects the entry into the tourism market of a growing middle class from these countries.”

Interestingly, what the Chinese most like to do on these foreign trips is spend some more, on shopping. Moving on from the souvenirs, they now splurge on luxury products like designer clothing and accessories. According to Dr. Wolfgang Georg Arlt, director of the China Outbound Tourism Research Institute (COTRI), shopping is often the main reason for travel for the Chinese, “Luxury goods are 20-30% cheaper in other global cities. If you plan to spend US$10,000 on shopping and only spend US$1,000 on airfare, it’s much cheaper for Chinese tourists to fly abroad to shop.”