Chic Outlet Shopping by Value Retail hosted the fourth “Shopping Tourism” round table at Bund 18 in Shanghai during the ILTM Asia (International Luxury Tourism Market).
The theme “East by West, the rise of Luxury Globalista”, saw a panel of industry experts from the fields of tourism, fashion and retail and media discus how brands in Asia adapt and evolve to meet the demands of the travelling luxury consumer. The event was attended by over 150 industry professionals, keen to gain further understanding of the emerging Shopping Tourism sector and how it impacts on the luxury retail and travel operators.
Moderator Piers Schmidt, chairman, Luxury Branding, led a panel of nine representatives including Peng Cheng from China Union Pay Shanghai, Yann Debelle De Montby from Debelle De Montby Associate, Travis Qian from Visit Britain, Hui Mei Lee from Visa Worldwide, Daniel Jeffreys from Deluxewords, Dr Wang Rudong from Suzhou Municipal Tourism Administration, Ann Marie Scichili from Value Retail Management, Deborah Merrens from Global Blue and Autilia Zeccato from Italian Government Tourism Board in China as they debated how established luxury brands are venturing into the tourism arena, the growth and impact of Shopping Tourism on the travel industry particularly in China.
Jeffreys suggested that: “70 per cent of Ultra high net worth individuals (UHNWIs) and high net worth individuals (HNWIs) identified travel as the prime way to spend the disposal income.”
Mei Lee highlighted that “China has overtaken Japan, becoming the highest spending countries in the Asia Pacific region.”
While Cheng pointed out that Chinese visitors are now seeking for a more complete travel experience, they are now demanding elements such as art and cultural experience, along with luxury shopping, to be part of their travel experience.
Chinese luxury travel consumers are discovering new channels as sources of their information according to Qian. “There is a growing trend that Chinese luxury visitors are now seeking information online when planning their travel and Weibo, which is an equivalent to Twitter, and to some extent, Facebook, has now become a major source of information for Chinese visitors.”
Referring to Value Retail China's upcoming Suzhou Village project, Dr Rudong, said: “Suzhou Village; the first Chic Outlet Shopping Village by Value Retail in China will further complement the tourism resources in the region and thus, provide a true destination experience for all visitors to Suzhou.”
Scichili agreed that serving the international luxury shopper exceeds more than shopping alone, “The experience of the Chic Outlet Shopping Villages transcends shopping itself. It’s exactly as when you travel; it is not only about flying, it’s about going somewhere and finding ways to really pepper the experience with unexpected and exciting discoveries: food, art exhibitions, entertainment; consistently evolving the offer."
According to the latest recorded Tax Refunded Sales data, Chinese tourists continue to dominate the non-European market. China is the largest non-Euro tax refunded sales market, with tax refunded sales increasing up by 80 per cent versus Q1 2011.
The latest Annual Report of China Outbound Tourism Development 2012 shows that mainland Chinese tourists made approximately 70 million trips to foreign countries last year, up by 22 per cent compared to year 2010. This is 1.2 times the number of US citizens and 3.5 times the number of Japanese tourists going abroad.
Scichili also added, “Chinese travellers contribute greatly to the outbound shopping tourism industry, especially to the luxury market. We work hard to understand our customers and to tailor our services at each of that the nine Chic Outlet Shopping Villages for our international guests.”
The nine Chic Outlet Shopping Villages, by Value Retail, perfectly illustrate the concept of “Shopping Tourism” in Europe. In 2011, the Collection in nine villages attracted more than 29 million visitors, up by more than 12 per cent compared with the same period last year.