on shopping ❖
carolyn j. feimster
Creative Itineraries Target The “Cultural Shopper” TODAY’S TRAVELER HAS changed dramatically over the past year and has become even more discriminating than ever before. Travelers want new experiences, but only at destinations and attractions that offer quality and value. What has not changed is that shopping and dining remain the top two activities of most visitors to a destination. They want time to shop for themselves, and they have to find time to shop and bring back gifts for family, friends and even the dog-sitter.
non-cultural visitor. Package a trip that offers a visit to a cultural institution in the morning with an afternoon of shopping in the same neighborhood. Better yet, look for shopping centers that have a cultural institution as a tenant, such as a museum. A perfect example is South Street Seaport Museum at South Street Seaport marketplace in New York City. The museum even acts as the fulfillment center for groups when they arrive at The Seaport.
Tour planners find shopping and cultural sightseeing make a dynamic duo. However, we find there are still tour operators who are not capitalizing on such an easy activity to include in an itinerary. This is probably due to the fact that shopping is usually considered a value-added activity and not a commissionable product. So how can you turn shopping into a win-win for you and your clients? Think out of the box. How about partnering with a cultural institution? Research by the U.S. Department of Commerce and the Taubman Company shows there is a high crossover between the cultural traveler and the shopper – enough that they came up with the term “cultural shopper.” The research showed that 81% of U.S. adults included at least one cultural activity during their trip. This is a lucrative market because these folks spend more money and stay longer than the 10 February 2010
TOURIST-FRIENDLY SHOPPING CENTERS Who can help you to identify complementary attractions that include shopping? Try the local DMO or go right to the marketing office of the shopping center. Do your homework online and find a center that is visitorfriendly and lists tourism programs. A smart cultural institution will take it upon itself to partner with a shopping center. It can even purchase food court dining vouchers to sell to groups. Or a tour operator can work with a particular center to offer a more upscale dining experience, such as vouchers valid at a select group of restaurants. It just depends on the needs of your clients. Shopping center gurus know how to partner and present itineraries to the operator. This should be part of your
discussion when you are meeting with a shopping center representative at a trade show. Interested in pre-packaged opportunities? Simply log onto www.culturetoursandmore.com. There are some amazing tours available. New Orleans offers a culinary history tour with samplings at a variety of restaurants. Macy’s in San Francisco has partnered with the Oakland Asian Cultural Center and includes a Chinatown Walking Tour, plus a $25 Macy’s gift card. The next step is to package with a hotel. Many shopping centers already have shop-and-stay packages that can be made available to the tour operator. Adding in tickets to a few cultural attractions is easy, especially in cities like Boston, where there is a partnership called BAG, Boston Attractions Group. Its website offers many packaging ideas. For example, Faneuil Hall Marketplace promotes the fact that they are an easy walk to the New England Aquarium, Museum of Science and Paul Revere’s House. Check out www.bostonattractionsgroup.com. In summary, it is all about the 3 “P’s” – Partnering, Packaging and Promoting, and coming up with unique package ideas that sell! Carolyn J. Feimster, SCMD, is owner/president of CJF Marketing International. The company develops programs to enhance the marketing, tourism development, economic development, and productivity of shopping centers and retail districts. She represents shopping center clients throughout the U.S., Central Europe and the Middle East. Contact Carolyn at 718-757-8489, carolyn@cjfmarketinginternational.com; or log on to cjfmarketinginternational.com.
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