Chic Outlet Shopping continues to consolidate its leadership in the always competitive world of retail tourism, attracting over 31 million visitors in 2013.
The Global Report on Shopping Tourism recently released by the World Tourism Organization (WTO) explains why shopping has ceased to be a causal holiday activity. It is in effect currently one of the key travel motivations. And with forecasts pointing to a yearly increase of 3.3% until 2030, shopping has become increasingly more important for the public and private sectors that want to attract tourists to their regions.
Value Retail’s Collection of Chic Retail Shopping Villages has yet again achieved double-digit, tax-free sales in 2014, especially thanks to Asian and Middle Eastern tourists from countries such as Malaysia, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Kuwait and Oman. Chinese consumers, representing 44% of all tax-free sales at all the Villages (24% to date in 2014), lead the field, making Bicester Village, just under one hour away from London, one of the most popular destinations for Chinese visitors in the United Kingdom.
For tourists coming from outside the European Union, the Villages offer them a simple and top-class shopping experience, with a selection of five-star services, including tax-free shopping, hands-free shopping, and international delivery services.
With a growing popularity among both national consumers and tourists, Value Retail has a number of promising expansion plans for 2015. The company will continue to market its Collection of Chic Retail Shopping Villages with the aim of attracting short-haul, frequent travellers from Europe, as well as long-haul tourists:
- Industry reports indicate that the majority of Chinese tourists travel in groups, although there are increasingly more independent travellers.
- The Middle East is still a strategic market, a recent study estimating that this market will reach the greatest average per-capita expenditure.
- Southeast Asia still represents an important market opportunity, generating more than 60% of MICE visitors. In addition, Indonesia is one of the fastest growing feeder markets.
