Dubai: Dubai Duty Free (DDF) has confirmed plans to roll out some discounts for travellers passing through the airport terminals in the emirate during its annual sale this month.
In what has been billed as a yearly airport shopping bonanza, the retailer will reduce prices across duty-free shelves at Dubai International Airport and Al Maktoum International Airport from December 18 to December 20.
The 72-hour pre-Christmas sale is part of the retailer’s 35th anniversary celebrations. It will be available for all departing, transiting and arriving passengers at the two airports.
According to Colm McLoughlin, executive vice president and CEO of Dubai Duty Free, the anniversary sale has now become a “highly-anticipated event” with many people choosing to travel on the days when duty-free goods are discounted.
“I think the big discount day is going to create a fantastic atmosphere at Dubai Duty Free for the entire 72 hours and it would be terrific to break the daily sales record on the anniversary day.”
A growing number of travellers pass through the UAE every year and Dubai International alone logged 88.2 million flyers in 2017, up by 5.5 per cent from a year earlier.
Last August, the home of the Gulf’s major airline, Emirates, achieved a new record, with the total number of flyers passing through its terminals reaching 8.37 million.
And as passenger numbers grow, so do the sales transactions at duty-free shops. DDF sales for the first three months of the year hit a whopping Dh1.91 billion, representing an 11 per cent jump over the sales record in the same period in 2017.
Between January and March, flyers bought Dh276 million worth of perfumes, Dh220 million worth of tobacco and Dh183 million worth of cosmetics.
