SHOPPING TOURISM

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INTRODUCTION

Shopping : Subsidiary activity to travel

Shopping Tourism : Leisure Pursuit

International Shopping Travellers + Shopping = choice of destinations

SHOPPING & TOURISM

Shopping can be part of the travel

experience or the primary focus of travel.

major motivations for a leisurely travel trip.

Tourists look for exciting opportunities to shop while travelling.

Some destinations provide special tourist shopping activities for tourists to shop for goods.

For many tourists, shopping is one priority when they travel to distant lands.

The exchange rate has a big impact on tourists’ shopping behavior.

SHOPPING IS A MAJOR TOURIST ACTIVITY WITH A HIGH PERCENTAGE OF PARTICIPATION. ACCORDING TO THE STATISTICAL DATA OF THE U.S. OFFICE OF TRAVEL AND TOURISM INDUSTRIES ON TOURISM PERFORMANCE, SHOPPING RANKS AS THE TOP PARTICIPATION ACTIVITY FOR ASIAN (90%) AND EASTERN EUROPEAN TOURISTS (85%), AND THE SECOND PARTICIPATION ACTIVITY FOR WESTERN EUROPEANS (86%). THE STATISTICS INDICATE THAT THE DEMAND FOR SHOPPING IS HIGH FOR EUROPEAN AND ASIAN TOURISTS. DETAILED PROFILES FOR COUNTRIES OF ORIGIN SHOW THAT SHOPPING IS ON THE TOP AMONG ALL OTHER TOURIST ACTIVITIES FOR THE EUROPEAN COUNTRIES OF IRELAND (93%), SPAIN (82%), AND ITALY (79%). ASIAN SHOPPING PARTICIPATION PERCENTAGES ARE THE HIGHEST AMONG ALL ASIAN COUNTRIES WITH A 93% FOR TAIWAN AND 92% FOR JAPAN.

Asians; 90%

E.Europeans; 85%

W.Europeans; 86%

SHOPPING AS A TOURIST ACTIVITY

•Shopping as an ancillary function of the visitor

attraction or destination.

•Shopping for travel and tourism products

within retail sectors which are, as a result,

influenced by seasonality..

•Shopping for essentials whilst on holiday,

•Shopping as a distinct tourism activity,

•Shopping to experience local culture through

an engagement with local products, local

craftspeople

WHAT MOTIVATES TOURISTS TO BECOME SHOPPERS?

When shopping becomes an activity for the sake of shopping it is somewhat different, and three main motives for shopping is identified: utilitarian, family or social interaction and shopping as a pleasure activity in its own right with social and relaxation dimensions. Four types of tourist are described and the link between the tourist activity and their shopping patterns is demonstratedTourist interest Shopping preference

Culture Local arts and crafts

Natural and built heritage

Local arts and crafts and printed materials

Urban entertainmentSouvenirs to display at home which often carry the logo of the visited destination

Active outdoor pursuits

Souvenirs associated with these outdoor activities

THE CONCEPT OF SHOPPING TOURISM

There are several factors that have led to the recognition of shopping tourism as a concept.An enjoyable experienceMeeting a social needAs a motive to travelThe leisure destinationSpecialty shopping

What attracts retail shoppers? price of goods is one of the key attractions

 quality and attractiveness of the

environment involved,.

Clothing and shoes rank amongst the most

important items for purchase by retail tourists, and

destinations selling quality, branded items in this

category will often fare better than others in terms

of increased inbound visitor numbers for the

purpose of shopping.

THE IMPORTANCE OF UNDERSTANDING TOURISTS’ SHOPPING BEHAVIOR

It is also important to recognise that the

purchasing behaviour of a tourist is different from

ordinary purchasing behaviour. Holiday travel, by

its very nature, is a break from normal routine.

Holiday travel, by its very nature, is a break from

normal routine. A study of tourists’ shopping

behaviour identified that the type of trip taken,

age and gender influenced a tourists’ participation

in different categories of shopping activity.

INDIA AS A SHOPPING DESTINATION

• FIFTH LARGEST SHOPPING DESTINATION GLOBALLY. INDIA IS PACKED WITH BEAUTIFUL THINGS TO BUY. SHOP FOR TRADITIONAL AND ETHNIC HANDICRAFTS EACH STATE OF INDIA HAS SOMETHING TO OFFER THE TOURISTS.

IMPORTANT SHOPPING DESTINATIONS OF INDIA

•DELHI: Browse, Bargain, Buy... Is the Only Mantra

•KASHMIR: The Shopper's Emporium

•RAJASTHAN: Shop till You Drop

•MADHYA PRADESH: Treasure of the Past or Fluke of the

Jackleg

•KERALA: Get An Indian Touch

SHOPPING FESTIVALS

Shopping festivals are created by countries to help with the economic growth by providing good quality products and services. Tourists from all over the world come to shopping festivals in Hong Kong and Dubai. Shopping festivals thus have become big attractions of tourist destinations. There are a number of shopping festivals that cater to the different needs of the shopper’s worldwide.

There are various shopping festivals held at different seasons in nearly every part of the world. This way, goods and commodities from every region comes within reach. If you have a liking for a particular thing, you need not go that region and buy it.

Thus tourists also engage in shopping activities with shopping festivals.

Some of the shopping festivals around the world are discussed below.

•DUBAI SHOPPING FESTIVAL (DSF) started on February 15, 1996 as a retail event intended to revitalize retail trade in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. It has since been promoted as a tourist attraction.

•Hong Kong, a place where East meets west makes one of the very popular tourist destinations of the world. All the fashion freaks from around the world have bookings for Hong Kong during the month of June to August. This is the time of the famous HONG KONG SHOPPING FESTIVAL.

 The MALAYSIAN SHOPPING FESTIVAL is a very popular fair all round the world. It is famous among the international tourists and people from all over the world throng it during the shopping festival. This way, they get to shop, enjoy the cultural events and tour the place at the same time.

ECONOMIC IMPACT OF SHOPPING TOURISM

•Shopping tourism generates a significant amount of spending in the destination. Shopping play a crucial role in a regional economy as they provide high visibility for commercial exchanges and these imported dollars often provide the additional revenue needed for local businesses to remain financially viable.•Shopping tourism has a huge impact on the economy of a destination. With the growing trend of shopping tourism many countries have felt the need of making more developed shopping malls and shopping centers which lead to high visibility for Commercial exchanges and sustain a number of jobs directly and indirectly in regional economies.•Apart from it in context of India shopping provides a boost to the handicraft industry. India has a large variety of handicrafts which tourists like to purchase on their visit to take back as mementos or souvenirs. This leads to improvement in the living condition of the handicraft industries.•When a tourist comes to a destination specially during the shopping festival season it also leads to growth in the other infrastructure such as hotels, transportation, food etc

FUTURE TRENDS IN LEISURE SHOPPING

•Many lodging establishments have installed retail outlets and commercializing mostly leisure shopping products;• different stores and complex designed for leisure shopping enhance their attractiveness by adding new facilities offered such as catering; •the conference programs usually include nowadays, shopping experience trips;• the airport, airlines, ferry and cruise company are developing their own leisure shopping stores and facilities in order to increase their income especially as a result of the loss of duty free sales; new shops that appeals to the hobbies offering facilities and equipment, for instance painting;

IMPORTANT TREND IN DEVELOPING THE LEISURE SHOPPING FACILITIES IS REPRESENTED BY THE MARKETING AND PROMOTION FROM OTHER SECTORS OF LEISURE:

- TOUR OPERATORS ORGANIZE EXCURSIONS THAT INCLUDE SHOPPING EXPERIENCE; - HOTELS USUALLY PROMOTE LEISURE SHOPPING FACILITIES FOR SELLING THEIR WEEKEND BREAKS; - TRANSPORT OPERATORS PROMOTE SHOPPING FACILITIES FOR THE OUT OF PEAK SEASON; ETC.

RECOMMENDATIONS FOR SUCCESSFUL SHOPPING TOURISM

•Collaboration between retailers and tourism stakeholders .•Awareness-raising within the retail sector of the potential benefits of shopping tourism •Understanding tourists’ purchasing behavior allows destinations to tailor their product offering to suit their key target markets. •It is also important to consider the attractiveness of the shopping environment,

CONCLUSION

•It is clear that shopping is an integral part of tourism, and has become a tourism activity in its own right.•An understanding of tourists’ shopping behaviour is vital if destination stakeholders are to satisfy their needs and expectations, thereby ensuring customer satisfaction.•the economic importance of shopping tourism cannot be underestimated. •This trend of shopping as leisure has increased the number of participants and over the years has developed into an important travel form - tourism for shopping with venues and season in peak or out of peak known worldwide.

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