Taiwan Jewellery and Gem Fair organiser, UBM Asia, hopes to attract China’s big spenders to the debut event, taking place next week in partnership with the Taiwan Jewellery Association.

According to UBM Asia, Taiwan has seen a strong performance within the jewellery manufacturing and processing industry, exporting products worldwide. And in recent years, the surge in tourists from Mainland China has driven a rapid expansion of the domestic market, said the firm in a statement.

According to a recent survey by US travel company, Travelzoo, Chinese tourists splash out an average of $874 on shopping during each overseas trip, more than any other Asian country, implying that the Mainlanders are still enjoying a life of luxury while the rest of the world is agonising over spending cuts.

The Taiwan event is yet another sign of the economic strength of the region and rising wealth of the population.

Statistics released by China’s National Tourism Administration last month also revealed that Mainland tourists made 73.6 per cent more trips to Taiwan between January and September of this year, than over the same time period last year.

And research conducted by the World Tourism Organisation indicated no impending shortage of travel budgets among the world’s largest population – its studies showed that the number of Chinese residents traveling overseas will reach more than 100 million by 2020. So it seems the Taiwan Jewellery and Gem Fair hosts are targeting the right sort of crowd.