Fashion tourism

Fashion Tourism can be defined as “the interaction between Destination Marketing Organizations (DMOs), trade associations, tourism suppliers and host communities, with people travelling to and visiting a particular place for business or leisure to enjoy, experiment, discover, study, trade, communicate about and consume fashion.”[1] International cities are increasingly using the cultural industries for the development of tourism and other industries to boost their economic fortune and to position themselves in the global market.

At the end of 2023, Emerald Publishing published the first edited book by Professor Maria Gravari-Barbas and Dr. Nadzeya Sabatini, titled "Fashion and Tourism: Parallel Stories",[5] which presents 15 chapters of academic research looking into the intersection and parallel developments of the two industries.

The recently launched Bicester designer shopping village, an hours train journey out of London is now the third largest shopping destination in the UK after Harrods and Selfridges, and the Bicester train station has signage in Mandarin and Arabic.

There is a trend within shopping tourism for consumers from emerging markets, notably China and South America, to plan their trips according to where fashion handbags are cheapest.

[12] The queues of non-Parisians outside Louis Vuitton clearly mean something, but according to an HSBC report ‘The Bling Dynasty’,[13] this is less about status (the chic of buying from the point of origin) than economic intelligence (the savings involved).