Dubai Duty Free named third largest operation

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The operator is aiming for sales of $500m in 2004 after its success last year

Dubai Duty Free has jumped from fifth to third place among the world's duty-free operations in terms of turnover, according to the latest figures for 2003 revealed by Generation.
With sales of $380m last year, Dubai Duty Free is now ranked only behind London Heathrow and Seoul Incheon. And the company is aiming for sales of $500m this year.

Commenting on the top three ranking, Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum, president of Dubai's Department of Civil Aviation said: "This is a tremendous achievement for Dubai Duty Free which has jumped from fifth to third place in one year. Dubai Duty Free sales now rank with operations in higher-traffic airports such as Heathrow, which handles in excess of 60m passengers per year."

Dubai Duty Free managing director Colm McLoughlin said: "We are delighted to be among the top three operations in the world and I would like to thank Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum for his support and to congratulate the 1,350 staff at Dubai Duty Free for continuing to generate record sales."

Looking ahead to this year, he added: "First-quarter sales at Dubai Duty Free reached $118m, while figures for the first five months show a 47% increase over the same period last year. We expect to close the year with a turnover of $500m, which should keep us in the top three ranking for another year."