Study suggests international shopping strategies
Shopping has long been a major reason for international visitors coming to the US but now a new study will help travel companies more carefully target this potentially lucrative market, according to observers.
“Shopping has always been one of the top activities of international travelers,” said Helen Marano, director of the US Commerce Department agency. “From this study, we know more about upper-income shoppers who visit. By understanding these travelers, the industry should be able to improve its approach to this lucrative segment.”
New York City was the most popular location for shopping. Los Angeles, Las Vegas and Atlanta tied for second.
For the study, Washington, D.C.-based Mandala Research questioned 2,500 travelers from five countries of increasing importance to US tourism: Australia, Brazil, China, India and South Korea. They are all countries projected to add up to 40 percent to their present visits.
Laura Mandala, a former US Travel Association executive whose firm conducted the survey, said its findings “support the thesis that travel barriers to the US should be eliminated for the economy to benefit from the infusion these travelers can have on the U.S. marketplace.”
Just one country, China, had a half million visitors coming to the US in 2008, one year after a political agreement opened the travel market. The Commerce Department says the Chinese visitors stayed about 23 nights on average and spent an estimated US$3.5 billion, about $7,200 per visit.
By David Wilkening
David
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