Interest in shopping as a leisure activity has emerged as a result of consumers’ affluence, the economic dominance of the retail industry and the emergence of consumption by women. Shopping centres have become destinations in themselves, whether Las Vegas, Hong Kong, Dubai or Minnesota which are all examples of conspicuous consumption where themed environments act as attractors, catering for the adult, bourgeois Disneyfication of destinations. Shopping has become a symbol of luxury, of play and of pleasure, all associated with lifestyle and consumerism. In order to attract high-spending shoppers, destinations have added value to the experience they offer by providing exclusivity and/or pleasure. Vegas is all about pleasure, whereas Dubai is about exclusivity and luxury embodied by the designer transformations and experiences throughout the world.

Tourists and shopping are not new. Some of earliest accounts of souvenirs date back to the ancient Egyptians, who brought mementos back to friends and family from their foreign trading expeditions. During the Middle Ages, as global exploration expanded into Africa and the Americas, voyagers came home with numerous examples of arts and crafts from the countries they had explored and the peoples they had conquered. Colonialists and explorers, through their booty and tales of exotic places, introduced the crafts of unknown peoples to Europe. During the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, young men undertook a Grand Tour through the cities of Italy and other countries, purchasing paintings, antiquities and bronze replicas of classical sculptures to take home. These tourists were primarily aristocrats and prosperous professionals, for whom wealth was part of life, whereas today wealth, consumerism and accessibility are what many consumers aspire to shopping becoming more of a leisure activity rather than a necessary chore is that consumers are increasingly likely to expect a fun ‘experience’ from the retail environments they visit. As Prahalad and Ramaswamy famously put it in the Harvard Business Review:

Managers also have to realise that the customer is no longer interested in buying a product. The product, in fact, is no more than an artefact around which customers have experiences. What’s more, customers are not prepared to accept experiences fabricated by companies. Increasingly, they want to shape those experiences themselves, both individually and with experts and with other customers.

Rising affluence and the expectations that accompany it have broadened the meaning of ‘having it all’ and personal interests now extend beyond the sphere of just family and work. Plentiful and varied leisure pursuits are expected by today’s consumers. Indeed, Pine and Gilmore in their book The Experience Economy, were already thinking about the possibility of some retailers charging customers admission to enter their stores.

Think about a pure retailer that already borders on the experiential. The next time you go to a Sharper Image or a Brookstone — two retailers that provide a place where consumers can play with the latest high-tech devices — watch the customers as they wander around the Store. Could such an establishment charge admission? The retailer might very well sell more goods.

In many senses, rising affluence, social mobility, the diversification of retail brands and consumer empowerment have all helped to democratise luxury, making it a key attribute of many branded products used to be the preserve of so-called ‘high-networth individuals’. Now, however, the elements of exclusivity, expense, affluence, extravagance, hedonism and gratification inherent in the term ‘luxury’ are engrained in the marketing of many of the less expensive fast moving consumer goods (FMCG)

Retail Tourism in Dubai
According to research by Mintel, the global luxury goods market is worth US $87.5 billion, with the Middle East and, in particular, Dubai, becoming the world’s most ostentatious shopping destination. Dubai is the ultimate in conspicuous luxury, designer fashions, with the world’s largest shopping mall, seven-star hotels and even festivals dedicated to shopping. The emirate is an example of the movement by a state government away from oil-dependency towards a diversified industry base, with retail and tourism being the sectors spearheading this development. According to Kuntze

  • Per capita, retail space in Dubai is already estimated to be four times that in the United States.
  • In 2008, Dubai will have 3 of the 10 largest malls worldwide.
  • By 2009, retail spending in Dubai’s shopping malls alone is expected to exceed US
  • $7.6 billion (for comparison mall-related retail spending in Saudi Arabia is US $6 billion and in Abu Dhabi it is US $1.9 billion).
  • Dubai alone will benefit from more retail spend than Saudi Arabia, thanks to a forecasted 15 million tourists who are expected to visit by 2010.
  • By 2010, Dubai will have 16 times more sales-floor space in malls per capita than
  • the average for the 25 EU countries.

Two local shopping events in particular attract a large number international visitors. These are the Dubai Summer Surprises (DSS) in August and the Dubai Shopping Festival (DSF) in December/January. What started as a retail project to boost sales in 1996 has turned into an unparalleled tourism initiative. Retailers make roughly 50% of their annual turnover during these festivals and tourists account for 65% of the retail business. DSF 2005 attracted 3.3 million visitors and generated business worth US $1.8 billion. This year’s event is expected to generate US $2.18 billion in retail revenue. DSS — the smaller of the two events — attracted 1.5 million visitors in 2006, primarily from other Middle East countries. Clothing and fashion trends are very important in the Middle East, because the population is very young (over 50% are under the age of 20, the median age is 22 in Saudi Arabia and 28 in UAE, compared to 36 in the United States, 39 in the United Kingdom and 42 in Germany) and affluent, with a strong interest in brands. It is a common sight to see women in the traditional abaya (black gown) dress and headscarf, wearing Manolo Blahnik high heels and carrying Gucci or Louis Vuitton handbags, whilst men dressed in the traditional Arab white dish dasha complement their outfit with Boss or Prada shoes and the obligatory Montblanc fountain pen in their breast pocket. Most Middle East nationals also possess an impressive stock of Western-style apparel, which is worn underneath their native dress outside the home, in the privacy of their homes and while travelling abroad.

The younger generation (those below 30) is also increasingly dressed in Western style. Satellite television and other Western influences are pervasive. There appears to be little brand loyalty in the purchase of clothes and footwear, that is people buy high-prestige brands, but will also chose whatever is currently the newest and most fashionable item available, the price being secondary. As the Arabic saying puts it: ‘Eat what you like, but wear what other people like’. Being well dressed reflects well on the bearer. Other cultural and regional aspects also need to be taken into account. Women’s clothing, for example tends to be more modest. Local people will not wear ‘indecent’ apparel — short skirts and tank tops — for religious reasons and most expatriate residents avoid them out of respect for the culture of their host country.

Russians, in particular, go on a shopping frenzy when visiting the Middle East, shelling out over US $5000 in retail outlets per visit to Dubai, followed by tourists from other Middle Eastern countries, with US $2760 per trip. Visitors to Dubai from Germany, Switzerland and the United Kingdom, on the other hand, appear to be more interested in passing their time on the beach, spending only around US $750 on shopping per visit. During the summer months, business tends to be slower, because there are fewer tourists (it is simply too hot) and because many locals are away on holiday in more moderate climate zones.

Concluding Remarks
The consumer of today is frequently time-constrained, female, looking for value, wanting an experience and with lots of choice — and this is likely to be the case up to 2030. Dubai is the destination consumers will visit to do their special leisure shopping — some shoppers would call it paradise. In this one city, people can shop the globe, trawling souks for Arabian products or exotic goods from around the region — Iranian caviar, Persian carpets or Aladdin slippers from Afghanistan. Dubai is also where celebrities shop for clothes from the latest Stella McCartney collection and those of other international designers. Dubai is a place for gold, diamonds, caviar and the finest champagnes. It is the ultimate experience of luxury and ostentatious consumption. Strategic policies have made Dubai what it is today — an international, luxury-shopping destination, which is not only for the super-rich but also for the world’s middle classes. Dubai is not about authenticity, sustainability and everything green — but about pure indulgence and conspicuous consumption.

Ian Yeoman’s new book, tomorrows tourist discusses what the future tourist will look like in 2030, where they will go on holiday and what they will do.


Ian Yeoman is the world’s only professional crystal ball gazer or futurologist specializing in travel and tourism. Ian learned his trade as the scenario planner for VisitScotland, where he established the process of futures thinking within the organisation using a variety of techniques including economic modelling, trends analysis and scenario construction. In May 2008, Ian was appointed an Assoc. Professor of Tourism Management at Victoria University, He is a popular speaker at conferences and was described by the UK Sunday Times as the country's leading contemporary futurologist.

Ian has a PhD in Management Science from Napier University, Edinburgh and a BSc (Hons) in Catering Systems from Sheffield Hallam University. Previously, Ian was Senior Lecturer in Tourism and Hospitality Management at Napier University and University College, Birmingham. He has extensive experience within the hospitality industry, for which he was a hotel manager with Trusthouse Forte.

Ian has received a number of awards in recognition of his research including his appointment as a Honorary Professor of Tourism Management at Stirling University and the Mike Simpson Award from the Operational Research Society.

More details about Ian and futurology in the travel industry can be at

Ian Yeoman
Victoria University Management School | Victoria University
00 64 (0) 4 463 5717
Tomorrows Tourist