IMAGES: GETTY; 4CORNERS


Experiential Travel SHOPPING 'Retail therapy' has become a key element of


consumer-oriented journalism and is almost as integral to coverage in travel media as accommodation and fl ights. According to Yolanda Perdomo, director of the Affi liate Members Programme at the United Nations World Tourism Organisation, shopping tourism “is a highly relevant component for travelers when choosing and preparing their trip”. She made the remark at a 2016 conference


in Madrid, Spain dedicated to the sector. Jörn Gieschen, researcher at the Instituto de Empresa, added that “shopping tourism is intimately related to city travel”. Destinations that have sizeable independent


retail scenes are the most enticing, such as edgy east London, Buenos Aires’s multi- faceted Palermo district and the New York hipster hub of Williamsburg. High street shopping, taking in major brand


outlets, is still popular, too, with London, Milan, Paris and Barcelona, plus Arabian Gulf cities like Dubai and Abu Dhabi all popular. A growing trend is market shopping, with


Tokyo’s fi sh markets and Marrakech’s souks holding particular appeal.


CULTURAL TOURS Cultural travel takes myriad forms and


can range from learning fl amenco dancing in Andalusia, Spain to an opera tour across Europe or studying Mandarin in Beijing. T e most obvious focus for cultural


experiences are cities like London, Paris, St Petersburg, Venice and Washington D.C., all boasting world-class museums and galleries. Classical musical capitals are few and


far between, but a list would include Salzburg for its Mozart connections, Vienna — also famed for Mozart, and for the waltz — and Milan and Venice for their opera houses. Festivals are a key element in this business, with Art Basel (in Basel, Hong Kong and Miami Beach), Germany’s Wagner-themed Bayreuth Festival, and Edinburgh’s Festival Fringe among the highest-profi le arts events. A cultural facet that’s available all year and


easy to access is architecture. Attractive hosts for this kind of experience include Oxford for its venerable colleges and churches, Berlin for its Bauhaus buildings and museums, Shanghai for its contemporary skyscrapers, and Manila and Brasilia, both bastions of the Modern movement. ▶


From top: Man selling tomatoes in a souk in Marrakech; Teatro


Comunale Emanuele opera house, Sicily


ASTAnetwork | Summer 2017 | 63


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