What: European luxury stores will need to wait longer for the mass return of tourists as flights from China remain limited and expensive.

Why it is important: Industry executives and analysts state that it may be more important to consider the type of Chinese visitors to Europe rather than just the numbers when it comes to luxury shopping overseas.

Air ticket prices are up to 80% more expensive than pre-pandemic and the number of travelers over the May holiday period was 64% lower than in 2019. As a result, those returning to Europe are business travelers and wealthier people who are less sensitive to flight prices and more likely to secure visas.

Despite the decrease in travelers, the average transaction value by Chinese travelers in Europe in March was 28% above 2019 levels according to Planet, a VAT refund provider.

Overall, luxury companies are focusing on courting wealthier shoppers and seeing the gradual return of Chinese tourists in Europe. Before the Labor Day holiday, Chinese consumers represented the third-largest spend after French and Americans.

Luxury brands are struggling to see what the baseline to compare with is, as 2022 was a strangely depressed year, 2021 saw unusual growth, and in 2019, 70% of the luxury spend of Chinese consumers was made abroad. Even in the long term, analysts say a return to that level of spending abroad is unlikely.

Fewer luxury shoppers but bigger spenders as Chinese return to Europe