China´s first tier cities seem to be getting out of breath, while second and third-tier cities blossom. Business analyst Shaun Rein has been predicting the shift already for a long time, he tells the South China Morning Post. The rising prosperity of lower-tier cities may boost tourism to cheaper destinations like the Philippines and Thailand, he adds.
The South China Morning Post:
“For years I have been persuading people to focus more on China’s second and third-tier cities,” said Shaun Rein, managing director of China Market Research Group. He said people in lower-tier cities are more optimistic about their future and therefore more willing to spend money than their counterparts living in big cities.
“First tier cities are becoming pretty much depressing these days, with some of the big companies cutting their budgets. The middle class is feeling the pain of reduced payments,” Rein said.
He reasoned that with more affordable housing and basic necessities in lower tier cities, residents there are “much more confident” than their first-tier city counterparts and thus feel more comfortable as consumers…
The rising prosperity of lower-tier cities may boost tourism to cheaper destinations like the Philippines and Thailand, according to Rein.
More in the South China Morning Post.
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