Marriott International and Hurun Research Institute announced an exclusive multi-year partnership to release an in-depth report on The Chinese Luxury Traveler, this marks an inaugural and unique cooperation for an international hotel company to join forces with a leading authority on Chinese luxury travel.

The full report will be released on 30 May 2016 during the annual International Luxury Travel Market (ILTM) Asia in Shanghai, China.

Hurun is regarded as the leading expert on understanding China’s high net worth consumers. Since 2011, the Chinese Luxury Traveler report offers extensive behavioral travel trends amongst China’s super tourists �" defined as individuals spending US$30,000 or more annually on travel. This year, the report focuses on China’s Generation Y travelers, aged from 18 to 36 in Tier 1 and Tier 2 cities with net worth of over US$1 million.

China is the largest outbound travel market and a significant focus for Marriott International, which has a footprint of 90 properties in China and over 40 in the pipeline. Luxury is instinctive at Marriott International with brands including The Ritz-Carlton, BVLGARI, EDITION and JW Marriott spanning more than 150 properties globally and over 20 in China, with approximately 30 planned.

Among the many compelling insights in this year’s report, the research revealed that 61% of young Chinese travelers prefer interactive electronic services, a growing trend that reaffirms the strategic investment that Marriott has made in new technologies.

“Since launching our Mobile app back in 2014, we have seen a significant shift in our online customer engagement in China and across the region, enabling guests to elevate their travel journey through the convenience of mobile concierge services before, during and after their stay. This seamless experience is extended to direct guest interaction on WeChat and convenient payment services through our alliance with Alipay,” commented Peggy Fang Roe, Chief Sales and Marketing Officer, Asia Pacific, at Marriott International. “Marriott has always invested heavily in understanding the attitudes and behaviors of our target customer and as such, our partnership with Hurun enables us to gain deeper insights and continue to evolve the luxury experience for our customers.”

Rupert Hoogewerf (right), Hurun Report Chairman and Chief Researcher said, “We are delighted to be working with Marriott International to put out the Chinese Luxury Traveler 2016 report. This year’s focus is on young luxury travelers, the Chinese ‘Generation Y’. The recent boom in Chinese entrepreneurship, together with a growing class of first generation ‘rich kids’, has minted this new class of luxury travelers with significant and fast-growing spending power.”

This multi-year partnership between Marriott International and Hurun Research Institute will furnish a deeper understanding of behavioral patterns of high net worth Mainland Chinese individuals on how they travel.