Chic Outlet Shopping launches travel trade guide

Chic Outlet Shopping®, a collection of nine luxury brand outlet shopping Villages in Europe managed by Value Retail, launches a new Travel Trade Guide to attract further trade partners and help increase its travel trade presence.

Shopping tourism is the 4th most important activity for tourists and 48% of all those on a city visit incorporate shopping in their itinerary (Source: European Travel Commission). Over 22 million visitors are welcomed at the nine Villages annually, of whom more than 30% are tourists. The travel trade is a key sector for Chic Outlet Shopping® in Europe, “Bicester Village gives added value to business and the shopping experience.”   Gullivers Travel Associates

The Travel Trade Guide features new opportunities in developing shopping tourism. Translated into 10 different languages, The Travel Trade Guide acts as the essential tool to promote the collection to travel trade professionals in all of Chic Outlet Shopping® key source markets, playing an important role in the brand’s tourism marketing strategy.

Thanks to its long-standing and highly successful trade partnerships, Chic Outlet Shopping® in Europe can offer travel trade professionals easy access to airlines, tour operators, hotels and attractions, providing travel agents and tour operators all the support they would need to incorporate a visit to one or more Villages in their itineraries.

The 9 Chic Outlet Shopping® Villages are advantageously located an hour or less from a major European city, each having a dedicated travel trade team in place providing local agents the opportunity to offer customers a unique addition to a travel itinerary. Tourism Managers, located in each Village, can help create tailor-made packages whether the clients are leisure, business or incentive travellers. Regional tourism expertise is enhanced further with a central Chic Outlet Shopping® tourism team, and dedicated Sales Representatives in key international markets such as Russia, China, Hong Kong and Japan.

Around 88% of tourists in Europe originate from within Europe itself, and all Chic Outlet Shopping® Villages welcome high numbers of intra-European travellers looking to incorporate shopping in their holidays or shopping break itineraries. In addition, non-European visitation also continues to increase; from January to June 2008 the collection of 9 Chic Outlet Shopping® Villages in Europe saw an increase of 30% in total tax refunded sales compared to the same period in 2007. The largest contributing market was China, representing 19% of the total number of tourists to the Villages – an increase of 58% on last year. Visitors from Russia represented 11% of the total number of visitors, which was also the fastest growing market with an increase of 87% on last year. Other markets included Korea, South East Asia, the Middle East, Brazil, Hong Kong, Japan and Taiwan.

Following the introduction of The Travel Trade Guide, Chic Outlet Shopping® in Europe will be launching several major trade initiatives, including an on-line training programme and a dedicated trade website later in the year.

For further information visit www.ChicOutletShoppingTravelTrade.com