When Chinese travellers stay at hotels abroad, they are paying the most for their accommodation in Dubai, research by Hotels.com has suggested.

According to its data for 2013, Chinese travellers paid an average of US $299.65 per night, coming ahead of Honolulu (US $291.60) and New York (US $275.67).

The hotel booking website put Dubai's place at the top of the rankings down to higher occupancy levels and the range of upmarket hotels.

Elsewhere in its ‘Chinese International Travel Monitor 2014’ report, Hotels.com found that, globally, Chinese overseas travellers were spending an average of US$1,086 per day, excluding accommodation. 52% of this is being spent on shopping, 18% on sightseeing and 14% on dining.

Story continues below
Advertisement

The report also shows the importance of mid-market options to Chinese travellers, with 57% likely to book three or four star hotels when travelling abroad. By contrast, only 17% would select a five-star hotel.

Meanwhile, 43% prefer to book hotels with an independent local flavour, down 9 percentage points on the figure from 2013. At the same time, international chain hotels are rapidly gaining popularity, up from 27% to 39%.

The data came from a survey of  3,000 Chinese international travelers, and it found that more than half now book their hotel accommodation either via the web or mobile apps, up from 45% last year.

Introducing the report, Hotels.com vice president and managing director APAC Abhiram Chowdhry said: “There are many factors driving the desire of the Chinese people to explore the world. The rising affluence of the growing middle class with higher disposable incomes, the upward trend in the numbers of repeat travelers, more relaxed visa conditions and improved local infrastructure are all dovetailing to expedite this growth.

"However, our report quantifies another factor: the rate at which technology is transforming the landscape of Chinese overseas travel.”

Research published last month by Hurun Report in association with ILTM Asia and The Chinese Luxury Traveller 2014 found that Dubai was among the top three most popular destinations among high-net-worth Chinese travellers.

It also found that 10% of those surveyed named Dubai as a must visit destination in the next three years and placed the UAE within the top 10 most popular countries for shopping.