Kildare Village, the Chic Outlet Shopping village in Ireland, has expanded its offering by 50%. Last week it opened 33 new boutiques, a new restaurant and a new cafe, giving guests a greater variety of Irish brands, to raise the appeal of the village with the US and Canadian markets.

Alice Johnston, head of Mice sales, Kildare Village, said the new boutiques have a focus on Irish design and Irish crafts such as glass blowing and wood carving and there will also be Irish food pop-ups.

“This is a long-term strategy for at least the next two years,” she explained. “The US and Canada are huge markets for Ireland, and we need to attract more of that business. We know they come to Ireland to shop for Irish merchandise.”

The expansion also gave Chic Outlet Shopping the opportunity to give something back to the community, she said: “We’re working with young designers and giving them a platform to showcase their work.”

There have also been developments at Bicester Village in England. Two weeks ago, Chiltern Railways opened a new rail link between London and Oxford, stopping at brand new Bicester Village Station, a stone’s throw from the Village. Previously visitors arriving by rail had to terminate at Bicester North and take a shuttle to the Village.

Thibault Ruffat, head of tourism, global marketing, for parent company Value Retail, said the new rail service offered a seamless arrivals and departure experience: “You arrive at a modern station, which leads to the Bicester Village Information Hub, where you can drop off your luggage, convert your VIP invitation to a VIP card, and collect all your shopping at the end using our hands-free shopping service.”

He added that rail tickets were not included in Shopping Packages sold via the trade, but Value Retail was working on integrating train tickets into Village websites.

The Collection of nine Villages in Europe attracted more than 32.5 million visits in 2014.