Geography Reference
In-Depth Information
• establishing pedestrian precincts
• managing parking problems and implementing park-and-ride schemes to improve
access and convenience
• marketing the destination based around an identifiable theme, often using the historical
and cultural attractions of a city
• investing in new and attractive indoor shopping galleries, improving facades, the layout
and design of the built environment and making the environment more attractive.
The English Historic Towns Forum (1992:12) identify the following factors which
tourism and leisure shoppers deemed important:
• the cleanliness of the town
• pedestrian areas/pavements which are well maintained
• natural features such as rivers and parks
• the architecture and facades/shop fronts
• street furniture (seating and floral displays)
• town centre activities (e.g. outdoor markets and live entertainment).
One can also add issues of urban safety, (Walker and Page 2003), particularly where new
shopping environments are now designing out crime in consultation with police. Indeed,
the discussion in Chapter 2 regarding social inclusion and the rise of private spaces as
shopping malls also raises many accessibility and environmental issues, where many new
retail environments are being developed as synthetic, protective and cosseted
environments, lacking in character and a sense of place. Many shopping malls are
becoming global in their design, retail mix and focus so that attracting the tourist and
leisure shopper is more competitive, given that many areas have similar retail offerings in
larger cities and in out-of-town locations.
Changes that alter the character of the town, where it becomes more tourist oriented,
are sometimes characterised by the development of speciality and gift/souvenir shops and
catering facilities in certain areas. However, as Owen (1990) argues, many traditional
urban shopping areas are in need of major refurbishment, and tourism may provide the
necessary stimulus for regeneration, especially in downtown areas that are competing
with out-of-town centres. Developments such as theme shopping (Jones Lang Wooten
1989) and festival marketplaces (Sawicki 1989) are specialised examples of how this
regeneration has proceeded in the UK and North America. Other developments such as
designer factory shops that sell off surplus designer stock, such as Sterling Mills in
central Scotland, have also developed a distinct segment in the market for leisure
shopping.
The period from 2005 to 2015, therefore, would seem to be set for tourism and leisure
shopping development to further segment markets by seeking new niches and products,
such as the development and refinement of airport retailing (Freathy 2004). Jansen-
Verbeke (1991) describes the 'total experience' as the future way forward for this
activity—retailers will need to attract tourism and leisure spending using newly built,
simulated or refurbished retailing environments with a variety of shopping experiences.
Keown's (1989) experience is that the opportunity to undertake a diverse range of retail
activities in a locality increases the tourist's propensity to spend. However, the growing
saturation of retailing provision in many industrialised countries may pose problems for
further growth in tourism and leisure shopping due to the intense competition for such
