What they say

The Ritz-Carlton, as a creator of the true luxury lifestyle experience, continues to sharpen its strategies for Chinese consumers by building a long-term relationship with Chinese luxury travelers both inside and outside China and formulating a number of China first-initiatives. One is a Chinese acrobatic performance on May 29 in Shanghai, a tailored design for the China market to build brand awareness. One thing the Ritz-Carlton brand prides itself on is the ability to surprise and delight. The show is a unique collaboration and represents the first time a luxury hospitality brand has created a showcase performance. The volume of luxury consumers and the annual increases in international travel make China a top priority for our future business. One example of our increased investment is the new ritzcarlton.cn that we launched a year ago.

Clayton Ruebensaal, vice-president of Global Marketing at Ritz-Carlton Hotel Co

China will play a pivotal role in the future of Club Med, which saw more than 100,000 Chinese guests in our resorts in Yabuli and Guilin. We're global leaders in skiing and very soon we'll have a summer resort on Dong'ao island in Zhuhai. By 2016, we'll have five resorts in China and double the number of Chinese guests. China is our fastest-growing and second-largest market in the world after France, the 65-year-old Club Med's home country. I'm very satisfied with the China market performance. This is the first time for all-inclusive service in China, and it is creating a new market. Club Med holidays are multicultural - guests are looking for international atmosphere. Chinese guests can have the French touch and French guests are expecting a holiday experience with an Asian flavor. The mixture of cultures is in the nature of Club Med. It's interesting to see the evolution of Chinese traveling and holidays - from moving around to different cities to staying in just one place.