Abu Dhabi: Duty Free sales in the first half of the year in Abu Dhabi reached Dh293 million, which is up 7.5 per cent compared to the same period last year, Abu Dhabi International Airport announced Tuesday in a statement.
Abu Dhabi Airports Company (Adac) Chief Commercial Officer Huraiz Al Mur Bin Huraiz attributed the increase to a "combination of things", such as the increase of travellers through Abu Dhabi and a better understanding to the type of customers they are, he said.
It was at the beginning of this year that Etihad Airways, the national airline of the UAE, had announced its plans to boost frequencies on several routes in 2011 and increase capacity on a range of several others. These expansion plans have undoubtedly increased the number of travellers through the Abu Dhabi airport and its duty free area.
However, numbers on the increase of travellers through the capital for the first half of the year have not yet been released by Adac.
Led by higher sales at the beauty and fragrance shops, Terminal 3 particularly, was the driver with a 59 per cent increase from its 19 luxury boutiques. Duty Free sales are expected to show a stronger performance in the third and fourth quarter of 2011, as shops in Terminal 1 reopen following the terminal's refurbishment, the statement said.
"We will not have a full year impact, but we expect double digit growth in 2011 as a whole compared to last year," Bin Huraiz told Gulf News.
"Normally you find businesses decline when they go into refurbishment work, but we still had a positive increase and it's great," he said. "It's something we're proud of."
Terminal 1, which is set to be completed before the Eid holiday, will add three fashion stores, two jewellery stores and a sunglasses area to the airport's duty free shops. These luxury boutiques include Burberry, Ferragamo, Givenchy, Bulgari and Mont Blanc.
"Most of the work is done. We just have a few boutiques remaining and we're progressing. We're quite confident they will finish by the end of this month," he said.
While awaiting the completion of Terminal 1, travellers passing through the terminal currently have access to several food and beverages facilities, along with many of the new Duty Free shops that are currently open, including the electronic outlet Sharaf DG Electronics.
