Local Tourist Shopping: How Purchases in a Destination Can Contribute to Sustainability

The success of highly attractive tourism destinations lies in their offering of a unique experience. Shopping is an increasingly appealing activity for both tourists and tourism managers. On the one hand, it is very complete; it allows visitors to experience the culture, enjoy varied and rewarding experiences, visit new places and gives them access to different types of products to take home. This results in a whole practice where intangibility and tangibility are combined. On the other hand, tourism managers and governments have great interest in fostering this activity given that it is a great source of income and improves global visibility as a tourist destination. Even though tourist shopping could be fostered in the development of a sustainable destination, this idea has seldom been considered before. This is especially relevant when traditional and local retail stores source autochthonous products and have a direct impact on the destination and its locals. In this way, shopping helps develop sustainable tourism since it supports local economies, involves local stakeholders, and spreads local culture. While international retail chains and brands can offer a great variety of products, local stores are able to offer a combination of a destination’s resources, people, and culture. A new concept emerges when considering the involvement of shopping and destination sustainability: local tourist shopping. This concept allows tourists to contribute substantially to the local economy given that purchasing goods in a destination triggers local products manufacturing, avoids the closure of traditional stores, and generates employment among the native population. Tourists can also benefit from the shopping experience in a new context while acquiring local and unique products. In addition, tourist shopping benefits the spreading of local heritage and culture as well as increasing the understanding of foreign customs and traditions. The aim of this chapter is to highlight the importance of local tourist shopping for destinations by presenting the benefits of this concept for involved stakeholders, showing how local tourist shopping results in a sustainable tourism practice, and by establishing recommendations for promoting this activity and becoming a local shopping destination based on sustainability.