Madrid and Barcelona Tops for Shops
November 18th, 2011
Madrid and Barcelona occupy tied second place in the ranking drawn up by Global Blue, of best European cities for shopping. After London, the capital and Barcelona are listed as the second favourite destination for all travellers from outside the country. Oslo, Belgrade and Geneva come nearer the bottom of the list, while Paris, Rome, Berlin and Amsterdam are also included in the ‘top 10′ rankings.
El Mundo reported that the research measured the quality of the shopping experience in 33 cities of the European Union, based on such parameters as variety of shops, price affordability, accessibility by public transport and the city’s climate or culture.
The cities were chosen in relation to the GDP of the country and the number of visitors to each place, in addition to other indicators. The study will provide guidance to both the traders – who will receive advice on where to open their business – and consumers, where they will learn where to find the best quality shopping.
Madrid came tops for the number of shops, brands, shopping centres, sales periods and genuine products, while Barcelona stood out for its culture and climate. The Spanish capital was also first with respect to international cuisine and extended opening hours, and also for the affordability of the restaurants. Barcelona is considered the European city most enjoyable for climate and culture but scores low on the availability of hotels. On the other hand, it is considered to be the city with the most reliable public transport in Europe, said Alasdair Ross, the director of Global Blue.
London the most expensive city
The best European city for shopping with respect to the variety of stores, the best hotels and the best transport, is London, but it is also one of the most expensive. At the time of the study, the company took into account the exchange rate of the pound against the euro. Paris, by contrast, is the city most visited for its culture and climate, followed by Rome and Berlin. In this section, the French capital notched up to five times more points than Madrid or Barcelona.
Luis Llorca, head of Communication for Global Blue in Spain, explained that China, Russia, Indonesia, Japan and the U.S. are the countries that buy most in Europe. Asia particularly stood out, with a forecast of 100 million Chinese travelling abroad in 2020. This year alone Chinese tourism purchases has risen by 55% over the previous year, reaching 950 million euros in all of Europe.
France, England, Italy, Germany, Turkey and Spain are, in this order, the countries where visitors spend the most. However, the indicators that the company used to conduct the study did not include the recent Sunday opening hours in Madrid.
In Spain, those who spend the most are the Russians, who recorded an increase in purchases of 54% compared to 2010, Chinese (+79%), Mexicans (+12%), Brazilians (+52%) and Japanese (+14%). The Russians spend an average of 433 euros per person in purchases while travelling in Spain.
For 2012 the company forecast that spending on purchases for countries like Russia, China and Brazil is likely to double.
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