Tourist destinations and luxury commerce: business opportunities

Abstract

Purpose

This work aims to analyze the relationship between a tourist destination and the success of luxury stores. The main objective is to examine whether there is any relationship between different features of a tourist destination and the number of years that a store has been operating there.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper analyzes a sample of stores located in Venice. A survey was carried out on luxury goods stores in Venice by personally interviewing their managers.

Findings

The paper identifies a significant relationship between the number of years that the stores have been operating in the tourist destination and their nationality.

Originality/value

Despite the favorable connotations that location in a tourist destination would appear to offer, companies seem to base their general strategy on intangible aspects such as image and brand capital. A number of conclusions and recommendations for managers of luxury stores were obtained from the study. In the light of the minimal impact that contact with other stores and the efforts of local authorities have had so far on the success of these establishments, it may be necessary to make greater efforts in these directions in order to increase their impact. In this respect, both public authorities and private businesses should cooperate in order to provide a coordinated response of town centre management through which the town centre could be better managed and developed.

Citation

Pilar Martínez‐Ruiz, M., Martínez‐Caraballo, N. and Amatulli, C. (2010), "Tourist destinations and luxury commerce: business opportunities", Journal of Place Management and Development, Vol. 3 No. 3, pp. 205-220. https://doi.org/10.1108/17538331011083943