Kevin Latham from the University of London's School of Oriental and African Studies. [Photo Provided to China Daily]

Bringing Chinese tourists to Europe is, however, only half the battle. Indeed, the real economic benefits often lie in encouraging them to spend whilst they are visiting. A report released by the World Luxury Association earlier this year showed that China now accounts for a quarter of the world's luxury goods market.

While China's domestic luxury market has grown significantly, the vast majority of Chinese luxury spending occurs overseas. Key European markets, such as France, Italy and the UK, have seen monumental increases in the amount being spent by Chinese tourists.

In 2009 the average Chinese tourist spent over 1,000 euros per head per trip in France. Boutiques and high-end retailers in London's Bond Street area alone took 230.7 million euros from Chinese tourists in 2010 according a report from London Luxury. The account found that Chinese shoppers were spending an average of 696 euros each per visit to one of these stores.

One shop benefiting from this trend is Selfridges, one of the continent's most prestigious department store chains. In recent years Selfridges has implemented a series of policies designed to encourage Chinese shoppers.

"Selfridges was the first department store in the UK to really welcome and nurture the trading potential from our Chinese customers," says Sophie Hedley, head of press at Selfridges. "We were the first major retailer in the UK to accept payment by China UnionPay cards and started introducing Chinese speaking employees on the shop-floor a few years ago.

"We have witnessed a rapid rise in sales from Chinese customers for the past five or six years, a phenomenon which has hit us a little earlier than other retailers. The growth is consistently in the double digits year on year and shows no sign of stopping."

But while Chinese desire for designer labels from high-end department stores has been well publicized, some rather more surprising brands have also benefited from the influx of Chinese visitors to Europe.

Clarks, the British shoe brand, has seen an unexpected rise in Chinese customers at its factory outlet store Clarks Village, in Somerset. The store has benefited from Clarks high-quality reputation in China.

"We've heard that in China there is an ABCD of retail highlights: Aquascutum, Burberry, Clarks and Dolce and Gabbana. Our Chinese customers seem to absolutely love Clarks shoes," says John Turner, deputy center manager at Clarks Village.