Dubai emerges on top in travelling shopper survey

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Dubai Duty Free has emerged as the world's leading airport duty-free retailer in a recent survey by European Data & Research. The Worldwide Airport Duty-Free Shopping Survey interviewed 46,853 passengers and was carried out in 24 international airports across Africa, Asia, Europe, Middle East, Latin America and North America.

The research was aimed at studying the buying habits of travellers, asking them to rate duty-free in the airport they were departing.

Marks were awarded to each duty-free operation in eleven categories that covered convenience, overall attractiveness, speed of service, choice of product categories and value for money. Dubai Duty Free received the highest rating in every category.

The survey also highlighted the different buying habits among different regions and indicated that Middle East travellers are most inclined to buy duty free with 56% of those surveyed buying at least one item. Purchasing levels were slightly higher amongst people travelling on business than among holiday makers.

Commenting on the survey findings, Dubai Department of Civil Aviation president Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum said: "Dubai Duty Free was placed against other top international airports in this independent survey and as such this is a tremendous achievement. It is extremely gratifying to receive this kind of endorsement from members of the public."

Dubai Duty Free managing director Colm McLoughlin added: "We are delighted with the findings of the survey and the fact that Dubai Duty Free has set a new industry benchmark. Such consistently high ratings across the board are a credit to the 872 staff who work so hard to make Dubai Duty Free a success."