More than 6,000 employees of Tiens Group — a Chinese conglomerate — were given the VIP treatment on an all expenses paid trip to France to celebrate the company’s 20th birthday.
The tour group — the largest to visit the country — was given a private tour of the Louvre museum and a private shopping session at luxury department store Galeries Lafayette during their four-day trip, reported French news agency Agence France-Presse.
After two days in Paris, the group headed down to the southern resort town of Nice on Friday, where they also broke a Guinness World Record for forming the largest human sentence.
All staff members lined up on the waterfront, Promenade des Anglais, to spell out the phrase “Tiens’ dream is nice in the Côte d’Azur” that was visible from above.
According to local media, the company booked 4,760 rooms in 79 hotels between Cannes and Monaco, and 146 tour buses.
“We have mobilized public services as well as tourism professionals, hotels, restaurants, shops and designer brands,” Christian Mantel, head of the French tourism development agency told AFP.
It’s estimated that the group will spend $15 million during their visit added Mantel, and France is seen to reap up to $20 million in total economic benefits.
Chinese tourists, who are known to be the world’s biggest holiday spenders, are said to spend an average of $7,200 when they go overseas.
It’s not the first time a Chinese company has arranged for massive tours overseas. Last year, a group of 7,000 made a trip to the U.S. to celebrate the 35th anniversary of Sino-U.S. diplomatic ties.
Tiens Group operates in a diverse range of business interests, including biotechnology, tourism and trade.
