Dubrovnik sales stall as French passengers drop

Gavin Lipsith

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Sales at the airport’s self-operated duty-free stores posted a marginal decline last year amid a shift in passenger demographics

Dubrovnik airport in Croatia has reported a 0.65% decline in sales at its directly operated duty-free stores over 2007, to €7.14m ($10.8m). The decrease was registered as international outbound passengers slipped by 0.37% to 449,233, with passengers from France overtaking those from the UK as the biggest national group using the airport.

Although total passenger numbers at the airport grew by 2.03%, to 1.14m, the important international passenger numbers decreased slightly compared with 2006 numbers. French passengers departing Dubrovnik dropped from 86,141 in 2006 to 66,770 in 2007, with UK passengers—up from 80,278 to 93,057—replacing them in the number one spot. German and Belgian passenger numbers also declined.

Fragrances and cosmetics (35.42% of total sales), cigarettes (18.32%), liquor (16.10%) were the best selling categories at Dubrovnik, with domestic goods (up 7.75%), confectionery (up 5.93%) and fragrances and cosmetics (up 4.77%) the fastest growing. Fashion accessories (down 25.16%), cigars (down 23.86%) and cigarettes (down 15.48%) noted the most severe downturns.

Average spend per passenger declined fractionally (by 0.31%) to €15.88 ($24.16) while average spend per transaction grew by 5.83% to €31.77 ($48.34).Penetration figures in duty-free shops also dropped slightly, although remains high at just over 50%.