Beverly Hills Tourism Gives a Facelift to Its Shopping and Evening Strategy in Amazon Era
Photo Credit: Beverly Hills, California is trying to revitalize its nighttime economy. Pictured are travelers shopping on Rodeo Drive. Flickr / CarSpotter
Skift Take
Shopping is one of the parts of any trip that many travelers look forward to. Online shopping is certainly impacting in-destination spending in some markets, and more tourism boards are getting creative with how to compete with e-commerce giants.
Online shopping giants like Amazon have thrown many tourism boards around the world into a quandary.
On the one hand, many tourism boards' budgets are partially funded through local retail shopping and businesses. On the other hand, many brick and mortar retail stores have had to close because they can't compete with the growth of e-commerce sites like Amazon, eBay or Alibaba, for example.
Meanwhile, many tourism boards are trying to revitalize their communities for visitors and locals, offering exciting events and programming that are largely dependent on the local retail shopping ecosystem.
Such is the case for Beverly Hills, California, a destination known worldwide for its luxury shopping, iconic hotels and celebrity residents.
But the Beverly Hills Conference & Visitors Bureau, the city's tourism board, wants travelers to also – some day – consider it as a great place to spend their evenings. In August, the city launched its BOLD (Beverly Hils Open Later Days)
