Cross-border shopping and tourism destination marketing: the case of Southern Jutland, Denmark

Abstract

ABSTRACTThis article addresses the economic impact that cross-border shopping has on the local tourism industry and the ways that cross-border shopping is taken advantage of in tourism destination marketing. Southern Jutland – situated in Denmark just north of the German border, where border shops situated just south of the same border enable Danes to capitalize on the lower value added tax levels in Germany – is utilized as an illustrative case example. The data were collected by analysing the relevant tourism destination marketing material and via interviews with local destination marketing organizations and tourism firms. Based on the empirical evidence it seems that the positive impact that cross-border shopping can have on attracting large numbers of tourists into the region can outweigh the negative impact of tourists preferring border shops to local products and services: cross-border shopping has become a tourist attraction in itself, which benefits the local economies on both sides of the border. However, this potential is not taken advantage of in tourism destination marketing. The article, thus, concludes with suggestions for the tourism industry to develop its image and brand by integrating cross-border shopping into tourism destination marketing strategies. The results have wider relevance for other border regions.