ROS Tourism Special Interview
-Read interview in Polish-
The travel season is in full swing and amidst increased European traveler sentiment for the coming months, the ROS team reviews its tourism approach. We spoke to Beatriz Português, Tourism Marketing Executive at Designer Outlet Algarve, Jessica Eckhoff, Tourism Marketing Executive at Designer Outlet Soltau, and Agata Blezień, Marketing Assistant Tourism at Designer Outlet Gdańsk, to dive into the tourism profile and strategy followed at each of these centres.
What is the tourism profile of your outlet destination and where do your tourists come from?
Beatriz Português
The Algarve is a popular holiday destination for families, especially for its temperate and warm climate, but also for its geographical proximity to several European countries and for its safety and idyllic landscapes. With around 300 days of sunshine a year, the Algarve is a very attractive destination for those looking for sun, especially to enjoy the beach between May and October, but also for golf lovers, as Portugal boasts some of the best and most prestigious golf courses in Europe.
Tourists represent a significant proportion of the visitors who visit Designer Outlet Algarve. According with our nationality reports the most prominent visitors YTD 2024 are from the UK (15,8%), Spain (9,2%), Brazil (6,8%), France (4,5%) and Germany (2,3%). It is relevant to add that other tourist markets are recently emerging in Portugal such as American (+35,2%) in 2023 and Morocco due to the new routes available at Faro airport since 2024.
Jessica Eckhoff: The Lüneburg Heath is popular with families, thrillseekers (rollercoaster junkies), those seeking relaxation, hikers, cyclists and nature lovers. Most tourists come from Germany, mainly from North Rhine-Westphalia, Hesse and Schleswig Holstein. International tourists mostly come from Scandinavia, the Netherlands and Poland.
Agata Blezień: Gdańsk is one of the most frequently visited Polish tourist destinations. In 2023, there was a record number of tourists and it was by 400,000 more than in 2022. The Tricity is most frequently visited by Scandinavians, who have a very good ferry and plane connection, followed by the English, Germans and the Dutch. It is worth mentioning that as many as 42% of tourists who visited Gdańsk declare that they also spend time shopping.
What are the main drivers that bring tourists to your outlet destination?
Agata Blezień
Our center is eagerly visited by tourists because we are the only outlet centre in the Pomerania region. Visitors are attracted by the opportunity to shop for well-known brands at prices reduced by at least 30% comparing to regular stores. In our center you can find the only Michael Kors Store in Pomerania, the only Boss Outlet in northern Poland, the largest Nike and adidas stores in the Tri-City, the only Asics in the Tri-City and many other well-known polish and global brands.
An additional advantage that attracts tourists is the unique architecture resembling a Scandinavian village with its own 25-meter-high lighthouse. The photos with our lighthouse look amazing! 😊
Jessica Eckhoff: The centre attracts tourists with its open design, great atmosphere and variety of brands. We are also a nice addition to the other excursion destinations in the region. In addition, you are allowed to bring dogs into the centre, which is a big point for many tourists.
Beatriz Português: The main drivers that bring tourists to visit Designer Outlet Algarve are the open space, prices and architecture and shopping atmosphere. Other factors such as our brand mix, security, hygiene and being pet friendly are relevant too.
What challenges and opportunities do you face?
Jessica Eckhoff
It is a challenge to get tourists into the centre, as many tend to spend less money on their holidays due to rising costs. We have to try to elicit offers from the brands that are also attractive to those on a budget. However, it also offers us the opportunity to establish the Designer Outlet Soltau as a place to linger, where people can not only shop, but also enjoy meeting for a coffee or a delicious meal.
Another challenge this year will be the new tourism trend in Germany. Contrary to recent years, Germans are spending less money again, but are not cutting back on holidays. Unlike in the pandemic and post-pandemic years, Germans are travelling abroad more this year, and are happy to spend more money on this. Domestic German tourism is no longer quite as popular as it was from 2020 to 2023.
Beatriz Português: The Algarve is characterised by the seasonal tourism with a high demand of tourists throughout the summer period (May-October) and lower demand throughout low season (November – April). This is indeed a big challenge that the region faces but continues to work on promoting Algarve as an all-year-round destination.
Still, mass tourism plays the bigger role and consists of many all-inclusive hotels, most of which are located on the coast and close to beaches or golf courses. These tourists are not so exposed to our communications since they spend most of the time in the hotels or dedicated to sports where they come to the Algarve. It is necessary to create and develop a strategy to communicate with them and create brand awareness with specific stakeholders to attract more of them.
Agata Blezień: Being the only outlet centre in Pomerania is certainly a huge advantage and a chance to be an attractive destination for tourists visiting not only Gdańsk itself, but also the entire region. Over 100 well-known Polish and global brands at prices from at least 30% to 70% lower than in regular shopping centers are a value and attraction in themselves and a factor that distinguishes us on the local market.
We are located in the southern part of Gdańsk, right next to the Tri-City ring road, which makes it impossible to reach us on foot. We do not have random customers who will come shopping while walking nearby or visiting something nearby. You have to deliberately come to us by car or bus. Therefore, the basic challenge is to reach tourists and inform them about our existence and unique offer.
The ongoing expansion of the centre is both a great challenge and a great opportunity for the future. Already in October, a completely new food area will be opened, which will certainly become an additional incentive to visit the centre.
What actions do you use to attract tourists?
Agata Blezień: First of all, we try to include information about Designer Outlet Gdańsk in most maps and guides for tourists. Moreover, we actively cooperate with tourist places such as tourist information points, a network of over 200 apartments, hotels, the airport, and the zoo – the largest one in Poland. For the purpose of this cooperation, we have developed a discount program addressed to tourists - One-Day Discount Card. We managed to take part in a “Dream City Break”, project organized by the Pomeranian Regional Tourist Organization, which had a competition formula addressed to Swedes planning a stay in the Tri-City. We must admit that many people chose Designer Outlet Gdańsk as one of the points of their trip, and even all the winners of the competition chose us. This year, a similar project will be organized for the Czech market, which has recently and unexpectedly become a great tourist potential for Gdańsk.
Beatriz Português: Partnerships and cooperations mostly with hotels and local companies such as water parks and some golf courses, are our biggest investment to bring more tourists to Designer Outlet Algarve. It is important to highlight our partnership with Follow Me Tours, which is one of the biggest tour providers in Algarve. These partnerships are measured mainly by the usage of our Day Discount Card.
The actions we develop with each partner are always personalised. For example, we have a family resort like the Four Seasons Fairways, where we do actions that are more geared towards children, while in the case of golf events we focus on brand awareness and the presence of our most interesting brands for the golfing segment.
In addition, we are working on relevant and innovative new cooperations within aviation, transportation, real estate, car rental, DMC’s, and tour operators.
Jessica Eckhoff: We have cooperations with the major parks in the region and on the back of the admission tickets are vouchers for a Day Discount Card. We also distribute flyers in hotels, guesthouses, holiday flats, campsites and rehabilitation clinics via the Ambassador programme. In addition, we place adverts with coupons in tourists’ region of origin and have a billboard camping from the south of Hamburg to the north of Hanover.