FOCUS
Travel retail
Vacation spending in
Asia flying high
It is hard to separate shopping from tourism when it is time for holidays, which explains
why travel retail is booming at a steady rate in Asia-Pacific. Muneerah Bee goes on
a journey of finding out the state of the sector and how close collaboration between
retailers and brands can boost sales year on year.
With 400 retail and service stores and 140 F&B outlets across Changi’s four terminals, the airport recorded more than S$2.5 billion (US$1.8
billion) in retail sales — a new all-time record — with more than 57 million transactions last year.
T
he travel and tourism industries
have been growing at a fast
pace and experiencing major
developments over the years
driven by consumers with increased
disposable income and improved
living standards. Coupled with rapid
urbanisation and affordable travel
choices globally, this has left a significant
impact on travel retail with room to
create more lucrative opportunities in
the days ahead.
The travel retail market is set to grow
to US$85 billion in 2020, according to
Generation Research, which specialises
in analysing and documenting the global
duty-free and travel retail market.
In particular, emerging economies,
such as Asia-Pacific and Latin America,
Middle East and Africa (LAMEA), have
seen a boost in international tourist
arrivals.
Erik Juul-Mortensen, president of
Tax Free World Association (TFWA),
shared that Asia-Pacific is continuing to
lead the market in duty-free and travel
retail, with a 45% share of global sales.
“The latest report from Generation
Research shows that the region is
continuing to go from strength to
Retail Asia August 2018
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