Dubai Duty Free scoops another industry award

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Dubai Duty Free (DDF) won top honours at the annual Gulf-Africa Duty Free and Travel Retailing Merit of Distinction Awards held in Amman last night. DDF won the Most Distinctive Retailer in the Middle East prize, presented to DDF managing director Colm McLoughlin by HRH Prince Faisal bin Al-Hussein of Jordan at the Gala Dinner held in association with the Middle East & Africa Duty Free Symposium.

Emirates Airline was awarded the Most Distinctive Airline Operator-Middle East prize. Spanish group Aldeasa, which has relaunched Jordanian Airport Duty Free Shops since acquiring the company, was awarded Most Distinctive Newcomer. Dubai-based Chalhoub Inc won the Outstanding Distributor prize.

The Middle East & Africa Duty Free Symposium closed today with a stimulating debate on the threat to ban duty-free tobacco by WHO (World Health Organization). Alpha Retail regional managing director Paul Topping presented the recent activities of the International Travel Retail Confederation (ITRC) which has identified key countries for industry lobbying and informal contacts between retailers and suppliers, and their respective governments. The Middle East, Africa, Southeast Asia, Caribbean countries and most of Eastern Europe are countries currently supporting, or indifferent to, the proposed duty-free tobacco ban.

Smokers are among the highest spenders in duty-free shops and a decline in shopping expenditure by this group - or any measure which reduces their numbers entering duty-free shops - is certain to affect all product categories. Furthermore, research shows that any ban would not have the desired health benefits WHO is proposing and this is one of the lobbying messages the industry needs to unite behind (smokers are unlikely to stop smoking because products are unavailable in duty-free shops). WHO has another key meeting in March 2002 and industry players were again invited to contact ITRC in Brussels with offers of financial or other support.

Full details of award winners are as follows:

Gulf-Africa Duty Free and Travel Retailing Merit of Distinction Awards 2002

Most Distinctive Retailer-Middle East: Dubai Duty Free
Most Distinctive Retailer-Africa: Weitnauer Tunisia
Most Distinctive Airline Operator-Middle East: Emirates Airline
Most Distinctive Airline Operator-Africa: South African Airways (Tourvest Duty Free)
Most Distinctive Newcomer: Aldeasa
Most Distinctive Seaport Shop in the Middle East: Hamila Duty Free
Innovative Partnership Award: Abu Dhabi Duty Free
Most Distinctive Retail Border Store-Middle East/Africa: Jordanian Duty Free Shops Co
Outstanding Distributor-Middle East/Africa: Chalhoub Inc

• A full report on the Middle East & Africa Duty Free Symposium will be online next week.