Choosing a destination for your ideal holiday, you’ll need to factor in various different things, including whether you’re looking for somewhere with warm and sunny weather that you can take part in water sports and spend your time at the beach, a luxury hotel with relaxing spa treatments or somewhere that the kids will have plenty to do. Today we’re zooming in on destinations that allow luxury shopping trips, to buy whatever you’re looking for, at more affordable prices than back home.
The topic has been brought to light by MyVoucherCodes.co.uk who recently polled their customers to find out whether they do any of their shopping abroad in order to save money, and if so, what destinations did they think were the best to get bargains on goods. 59% of the British holidaymakers who were asked stated that they did shop abroad to pick up good deals which they wouldn’t be able to get at home, and 26% of them admitted to making the final decision on where to go on holiday due to the shopping available there.
The USA was the destination of choice for bargain-seeking holidaymakers with 31% of respondents saying that they headed there to buy goods. The most popular things to buy in the States are apparently high value pieces such as electronic goods which are marked up highly in the UK compared to America, as well as clothing and accessories from fashion brands which are popular on both sides of the pond but cheaper over there.
Turkey came up as the second most popular destination to get bargains according to 29% of responses. The country was not well known as a holiday destination until recent years but has grown substantially in popularity with a range of resorts catering for budget friendly hotels right up to luxurious private villas.
Dubai was another popular choice among respondents, with 25% saying they would choose to travel to the country in order to buy goods cheaper than they would in the UK. The country is renowned for drawing the rich and famous from around the world, with numerous luxury resorts and huge shopping malls. Bargain seekers are heading here to pick up items that are duty free as well as jewellery with great deals.
18% replied with Spain, a more local destination for bargain hunting, and 15% said Tokyo, a more far flung and exotic destination, but popular for cheap and lesser known or unusual technology.
So what are the best tips for getting cheap shopping deals abroad in luxury destinations? Mark Pearson from My Voucher Codes warns: “I would caution travellers to be careful when returning home that they don’t get caught by customs. Wearing clothing they bought and taking off labels can be a good way around it, along with using electronic products. However you should also check the limits for bringing back cigarettes and alcohol into the UK.”
This recommendation is backed up by further results from the survey stating that 8% of people saying that they would ensure to remove packaging and use electronics before taking them home to avoid customs charges, and even more suggesting that they would wear clothing and remove labels for the same reason. Surprisingly 18% also said that they were used to taking empty or hardly filled suitcases abroad with them for the simple reason that they could fill them with cheap shopping abroad to bring home with them.
On a final note, according to the research, you don’t necessarily need to be travelling to a specific destination that offers cheaply priced luxury goods in order to get the best deal. In fact, 78% got the majority of their shopping done in the duty free section at the airport as opposed to the other 46% who used shopping malls, 26% who went to market stalls and 19% confessing to using knock-off stores.
