Bicester Village bucks the recession

Despite the recession, Bicester Village, the flagship of the nine ‘Chic Outlet Shopping Villages’ in Europe is enjoying a dramatic increase in footfall compared to last year and double digit sales growth in the first quarter of 2009.

The growth in the first quarter has come mostly from tourism. The effect of the weak pound and Bicester Village’s location just one hour from London (a tourism gateway to Europe for long haul travellers) are key attributes to attracting tourists.

One in three people who have visited Bicester Village this year come from overseas, a fact also supported by the 42% rise in the number of coaches bringing UK-inbound groups to the Village. Overall tourist sales have increased by 85%* for Q1 compared to the same period in 2008. (*source Global Refund). A prime example is the footfall for Easter Saturday, when figures reached a new high peaking at 22,000 visitors, a new record for a single day.

The luxury shopping destination puts its latest surge in visitor numbers down to several factors. The launch of a new third phase in October 2008 added another 20 boutiques to the village, widening the selection of exclusive British and International home, lifestyle and fashion brands on offer to over 120; and a broad range of services including a tourist information centre, personal style consultants, valet parking and multi lingual staff, together with the carefully selected brand mix, has encouraged more travel agents and tour operators to add Bicester Village as a preferred shopping attraction for their UK itineraries.

Of particular note is the considerable increase in tourists travelling from the Middle East, attracted by the unique shopping and cultural experience Bicester Village has to offer as well as the variety of luxury exclusive brands such as Valentino, Dunhill, D&G, Salvatore Ferragamo and Mulberry.

Visitors to Bicester Village from this region have grown by an average of 220%* in the period from January – April 2009 compared to the same period in 2008 (*source Global Refund).

With the retention of a high number of tourists from China and an additional influx of tourists from Korea, Japan and Russia, Bicester Village Senior Tourism Manager, Helen Peters agrees that the weak pound has largely attributed to Bicester Village bucking the recession trend;

“Even in these challenging economic conditions, 90% of tourists state ‘shopping’ as one of their priority activities whilst on holiday; this intent combined with the considerably weak value of the Pound against their own currencies makes Bicester Village their favourite retail tourist attraction outside of London.

“The unique luxury offering of brands, many are exclusive European outlet boutiques, is of key relevance for many tourists. Internationally recognised brands at up to 60% reductions offer overseas visitors incredible value for money anyway, but enhanced by the worldwide economy our proposition is more enticing than ever to tourists who covet statement British brands such as Alexander McQueen, Agent Provocateur, Smythson, Anya Hindmarch, and Mulberry.

“We’ve also seen a 66% increase in the amount of visitors arriving by train from London, another indicator that tourists are making Bicester Village a shopping destination.”

This first quarter follows the trend over the last 12 months, encouraged by building strong partnerships across the travel trade and a marketing focus to support Bicester Village as a tourist attraction. Karen Roebuck, Head of Marketing at Tourism South East who has helped Bicester Village drive their China initiative, describes the success of their partnership;

“Over the last four years we have been working in China to encourage visitors to South East England. Over this period, nearly every press or trade familiarisation visit has asked us to include Bicester Village which is already seen as the iconic destination to visit in the South East.

“Global Refund, the organisation dealing with Duty Free claims has identified Bicester Village as the destination with the highest tourist sales outside of London in England and our main agent, China Holidays, who handle the top-end inbound tourist groups also include Bicester Village in all their visits to England to meet the demand.”

These strong trade relationships have led to Bicester Village being the number one tourist destination for the Chinese to visit outside of London for the last three consecutive years, however aside from it’s substantial economic benefits, Bicester Village offers unique and considerable added value to its experience as a tourist attraction, offering a relaxing and enjoyable shopping and dining experience for visitors in a stylish and fresh ‘open-air’ environment.

For more information, visit BicesterVillage.Com and ChicOutletShopping.Com.