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532 shopping
cent of the total land area), distribute tourists
throughout the main islands, and prevent overdevelopment
�there is a ceiling of 4,500 beds).
Numbers have oscillated around 100,000 annually
since 1990. The industry contributes about 50 per
cent of GDP. Cruise tourism was a new growth
area in the mid-1990s.
shopping
DAVID WILSON, UK
The growing importance of retailing in destination
areas and resorts is a reflection of the role of
shopping in the tourist experience. In terms of
time budgets and expenditures, shopping can now
be considered as an important tourist activity. The
actual economic benefits have long been underestimated.
Although shopping is not commonly
mentioned as a prime motive or a key factor in the
destination choice, recent surveys of tourist behaviour
patterns indicate the actual time budgets
spent on shopping. The rapid expansion of the city
trip market and short breaks strongly supports
the tourismification of the retail sector.
The importance and success of catering to
tourists' shopping proclivities is manifest in tourism
shopping villages, urban shopping areas in destinations
and resorts, museum shops and, not least, in
retail trade development in amusement parks and
other attractions. Potential tourists are now being
offered arrangements for shopping trips in which
the shopping opportunities are promoted as the
core product. Examples are Christmas shopping
trips to London or New York and tours by coach or
train to visit the German Christmas markets.
The attraction of tax-free shopping in airports
�such as London, Amsterdam, Frankfurt, Dubai,
Hongkong or Bangkok) and on international
ferryboats persists, despite the decreasing competitive
advantages. Cross-border shopping is appealing
to many, and generates important flows of
consumers. Mega-shopping malls such as West
Edmonton Mall �Canada), the Mall of America
�USA) and Centro Oberhausen �Germany) are
becoming important destinations even beyond the
domestic tourism market.
Tourists' propensity to shop varies according to
their cultural background and the range and
nature of shopping opportunities in the destination
area. Japanese tourists are frequently catered for, as
they have a reputation of being big spenders. This
aspect of behaviour strongly supports the development
of the souvenir industry. The production and
marketing of craft souvenirs is a global response
to this tourism market, and raises questions about
authenticity and cultural convergence.
Tourism retailing offers interesting prospects
for many locations, in particular the `exotic'
places and for small business enterprises, but also
brings a serious risk of standardisation. The
theming of festival markets, the upgrading of
street markets, the redevelopment plans for
heritage sites and urban waterfront areas to
become the carriers of urban tourism all are
based on very similar concepts of the product
mix. In order to survive the trend towards
convergence, there is a need to safeguard the
competitive advantages of uniqueness by emphasising
cultural links with the host community and
its traditions. This applies to the product mix as
well as to the characteristics of the shopping
environment and its functional integration into
the local tourism system.
Further reading
Anderson, L.F. and Littrell, M.A. �1995) `Souvenir
purchase behaviour of women tourists', Annals of
Tourism Research 22�2): 328±48.
Butler, R.W. �1991) `West Edmonton Mall as a
tourist attraction', The Canadian Geographer 35�3):
287±95.
Getz, D. �1993) `Tourist shopping villages: development
and planning strategies', Tourism Management:
15±26.
Kent, W.E., Shock, P.J. and Snow, R.E. �1983)
`Shopping: tourism's unsung hero�in)', Journal of
Travel Research 21�4): 2±4.
Jansen-Verbeke, M. �1994) `The synergy between
shopping and tourism: the Japanese experience',
in W. Theobald �ed.), Global Tourism:The Next
Decade, Oxford: Butterworth Heinemann, 347±
62.
MYRIAM JANSEN-VERBEKE, BELGIUM