Superb Shopping Spots

Shopping continues to be a top activity for leisure, group and international travelers. Shopping is the #1 travel activity for overseas visitors. For U.S. domestic travelers, shopping ranks second behind visiting relatives. Shopping is so popular with all types of groups that many shopping destinations offer tour packaging ideas, benefits and incentives to their travel trade partners.

Why do travelers want to shop?

Time. Travel gives us leisure time to indulge in activities that don’t fit into our busy lives. We have the time to stroll through historic downtown streets, browse quaint shops and absorb local flavor. We plan visits to bustling theme/ festival districts for their history and uniqueness. We shop in the growing number of stores in airports as we wait for flights.

Entertainment. Shopping is the purpose of the trip. Staying in nearby hotels, travelers spend multiple days in a location taking advantage of shopping opportunities as well as pursuing other mall activities such as visiting theaters, rides, arcades, restaurants and galleries.

Unique Products. Shoppers look for memorable keepsakes from a destination, things they cannot find at home and value priced items – specialty or unique goods, food products, antiques, souvenirs and gifts.

What’s Inside This Issue?

We feature 81 shopping spots covering all types of shopping destinations – malls, shopping centers, factory outlets, historic downtowns, theme/festival centers –from across the U.S. Each of these merits a stop while your group is visiting these group-friendly destinations. Many of these areas have other shopping spots and are shopping destinations.

Shopping information provided for the must-shop spots:

Shopping Center Name

Location

Year Established

Category of Shopping Center

Square Feet of Retail Space

Number of Stores

VIP = Special services for groups including coupon books, totes or bus parking

Description

TRIPinfo is a tool for planning group trips and making the best decisions for trip itineraries. Click to see 1,300+ shopping spots: Shopping Tables. Use the thumbnail shopping specs to plan and contact the properties.

Have a great TRIP!