TOP 5 shopping destinations
Russians go abroad not only to rest. Shopping trips are gaining more and more popularity among our tourists. The new trend contradicts the decrease in the purchasing power of compatriots and the fall in the ruble exchange rate, however, according to statistics from RossTur, the number of trips for shopping in 2017 increased by 8% compared to 2016. And in 2018, the Russians do not seem to intend to change priorities.
The company "RossTur" decided to find out which countries are most popular with shopping enthusiasts. To do this, the company's specialists analyzed the statistics of tour bookings for the first 4 months of 2018.
1st place – Rome, Milan, Italy. Compared to last year, this country has only strengthened its position as the best place to shop. Moreover, traditional tourism here is perfectly combined with shopping in almost any season. And it is very profitable to overstock here: there are many large shopping centers and outlets. The winter sales season also makes good statistics for Italy: for many Russians, it has already become a tradition to plan a vacation for the beginning of January to spend it on the Appennine Peninsula.
2nd place – Barcelona, Spain. This country is tearing up in the standings of popular places for shopping. This is due to the reorientation of Russians to more democratic brands, many of which come from Spain. In addition, the popularity adds Tax Free – refund of value added tax (usually 10–15% of the purchase).
3rd place – China. The world's main factory is rushing up in the shopping rankings from year to year. And this is happening not only in the economy segments, sales of premium Asian brands are growing even faster in China: Beijing, Shanghai, Hong Kong and Macau have long been platforms for comfortable, diverse and profitable shopping, there is literally everything here. Russian tourists cannot resist such a temptation either.
4th place – UAE, Dubai. The new world capital of shopping. A considerable competitive advantage of Dubai is its beaches, where you can relax after visiting giant shopping malls. The main time for shopping here is winter, when large-scale sales are combined with excellent weather: the best time to fly away from the Russian cold for a while.
5th place – Istanbul, Turkey. Russians come here for inexpensive and high-quality clothes. While the capital of Turkey is not associated with high fashion, but perhaps this is the advantage. On the contrary, numerous shopping malls and, of course, colorful eastern markets where you can significantly bring down the price are a great way to enjoy shopping and at the same time save a lot.
The statistics of shopping travel bookings show that Europe is being squeezed by the megacities of the East. In fact, only two fashionable bastions did not fall before their onslaught - Italy and Spain. France has already dropped out of the top five. The Old World loses in the price of goods, and the East, in addition to high-quality shopping, also provides excellent resort infrastructure.
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