When we talk about the best Duty Free in the world, we refer to those duty-free stores that are located in the international zone of international airports or seaports. These places are so appreciated by travellers because the prices of merchandise are lower than in stores located anywhere else; being able to obtain a discount of between 5% to 25% less than in the rest of the country.
Generally, among the available items in these stores are cigarettes, alcoholic beverages, chocolates, sweets, food, makeup, jewellery, clothing, accessories, among many more. To get an idea of which are the best “Duty Free” in the world, the UK company in charge of analysing and comparing the quality of the different airlines and airports around the world, Skytrax, has created a list of the best establishments in this type for the “World Airport Awards”, where it is the clients who choose the winners. Let’s see what were the best airport shops for 2019;
London Heathrow
In this London airport there are several stores that offer more than 17 thousand products, ranging from cosmetics, to confectionery, fragrances, fashion accessories, liquors, high-quality food and wine, cigarettes and many more items from very famous brands, such like Bulgari, Burberry, Chanel, Harrods Hugo Boss. One of its purchasing methods is through the internet, being able to make the purchase “on-line”, and before you board the plane or when it lands, you can go and look for what you have purchased.
Dubai International
In this city of luxury and wealth, you can find everything from the best brands in the world to typical handicrafts. The variety, elegance and spectacular nature of its stores make them among the best duty free in the world.
Singapore Changi
Firms such as Gucci, Victoria’s Secret, Prada, La Perla, Ralph Laure and Rolex, are present in this type of Singapore stores, which manage to impact tourists, by combining the exotic of this tourist destination, with the variety of articles of luxury at the best prices on the market.
Hong Kong International
Ferrari, Gucci, Cartier, Lacoste, Valentino and Zegna meet at duty free stores at Hong Kong International Airport, to provide travellers with interesting alternatives to purchase duty free products.
Seoul Incheon International
In the beautiful city of Seoul, there is the fifth best duty free in the world, and this is due to the quality and prices of the products it offers, including companies such as Etro, Hermes, Louis Vuitton, Prada and Burberry.
Well, the percentages of money that you can save when buying in some of these stores, we will give as an example, the purchases of some items in countries of the European Union. Thus, if you decide to buy a perfume of the brand “My Burberry” in a duty free store at an airport in France; you could be saving at least 17% on your investment; Since it costs about 115 euros in a store located elsewhere, while in duty free, it would cost only 95 euros, representing a saving of 20 euros.
However, in Europe not all items are cheaper in these stores, for example liquors and confectionery generally cost less in markets; as in the case of “Toblerone” brand chocolates, which can be obtained 38% cheaper in supermarkets, than in duty-free stores in most airports, “Ferrero Rocher” chocolates, which are 41% less expensive in supermarkets; or as the case of the Martini Bianco litre bottle, which is 51% cheaper at the Berlin airport, compared to the price at Amsterdam airport.
These examples reflect that it is not possible to speak of the cheapest “Duty Free” in the world, because the prices of different merchandise vary greatly from one country to another, since they not only depend on the exemption of taxes by governments, but also the policies and strategies of each store, suppliers, profit margins, among other factors.
ALFA