A Series of Firsts: Value Retail Leads the Way With Two Pioneering Initiatives at the World's Largest Tourism Trade Fair - ITB Berlin 2015

BERLIN, March 5, 2015 /PRNewswire/ --

Value Retail will showcase two innovative tourism partnerships at ITB Berlin, the world's largest tourism fair, to be held from 4 to 8 March 2015.

The first retailer to offer 'Online Travel Training'

Value Retail is set to become the first ever retailer to offer travel and tourism partners Online Travel Training. This will help travel partners discover everything the Collection of Villages has to offer their clients in a dynamic, streamlined and efficient way.

Online Travel Training is the number-one eLearning platform for the tourism industry, which provides the largest number of courses designed by experts in the industry. Training will be available on ChicOutletShopping.com in 10 languages, and will educate travel partners on:

• The experience awaiting guests in the Villages
• The full range of services and amenities available to their clients at each Village
• How to book and sell Shopping Packages to the Villages
• The new Village in China, Suzhou Village
• Business Tourism (MICE) opportunities

The first module of the training programme will be launched at ITB on 4 March, where visitors to the Value Retail stand can discover and trial the innovative new tool for themselves.

Julia Feuell, Managing Director of Online Travel Training, says, "Online Travel Training promises to enhance the luxurious Value Retail Village experience using cutting edge digital marketing technology for both the travel and tourism agents it works with, and its guests from around the world."

The first outlet group to partner with Ctrip 

In another pioneering partnership, Value Retail has become the first operator of outlet shopping destinations in the world to sign an agreement with Ctrip, the top online travel agency in China. Ctrip - which accounts for 50% of the total online travel service market in China - offers hotel reservations, airline tickets and package tours to business and leisure travellers in China, and provides travel services to more than 90 million travellers via both online and traditional channels.

This new partnership will make the experience at the Collection of Villages accessible to an even wider Chinese audience in a way that supports and facilitates their individual travel needs, so they can easily incorporate a visit to one of the Villages into their travel itinerary.

Ian Stazicker, Group Tourism Director - Value Retail, says, "Value Retail and Ctrip are natural partners, as we are both committed to creating exceptional experiences for Chinese tourists to Europe. The Collection of Villages in Europe are very popular destinations for Chinese tourists, and this new alliance with Ctrip will make the luxury Village experience more accessible for our Chinese guests than ever before."

ITB Berlin will be the inaugural event for Elise Guingand, who was recently appointed Tourism Manager - International Markets. Most recently, Elise - who is French, and speaks English, Spanish and Russian - worked as Marketing Sales Manager and Key Account Manager for Global Blue, and previously worked for BNP Paribas.  

Value Retail can be found at ITB Berlin from 4 to 8 March 2015 in Kingdom Hall 18, booth 125a.  

About Value Retail 

Value Retail is the only company to specialise exclusively in the development and operation of luxury outlet shopping destinations, the Collection of Villages. The Villages are widely recognised as amongst the best performing shopping centres in terms of sales densities in the world. Since its beginning with Bicester Village in 1995, the Collection has delivered double digit gross sales growth each year and in 2014 attracted more than 32.5 million visits. Each Village is located within an hour of at least one major European city and has established itself as an international shopping tourism destination, defined by high fashion, superior service and hospitality, and a calendar of celebrated events. Value Retail China, an affiliate of Value Retail, opened the first Village in China, Suzhou Village, in Suzhou, 50 miles west of Shanghai in May 2014. A second, Shanghai Village, will open in 2015 next to the Shanghai Disney Resort, located at the heart of a Chinese government $5.5 billion master plan, the Shanghai International Tourism and Resorts Zone.

To learn more about Value Retail and Value Retail China, please visit http://ValueRetail.com