Duty Free retail turnover at Abu Dhabi International Airport grew 19 per cent during the first half of 2010 to $75 million, outperforming the airport’s passenger growth of 11.7 per cent over the same period.

Furthermore, spend per passenger increased by 7.2 per cent amounting to $14.47, said a top official.

Huraiz Almur bin Huraiz, Abu Dhabi Airports Company’s chief commercial officer, said: 'Retail spending at our airport is significantly stronger than passenger growth, a clear sign that we are succeeding in encouraging travelers to spend more.'

'We believe two key trends are at play: firstly consumer confidence is returning, following the impact of the global economic recession, and secondly ADAC’s investment program in Terminal 1 and the upgraded retail offerings in Terminal 3 are delivering results.'

'Our Shop-Dine-Unwind retail proposition is really reaching out to our customers,' he added.

According to him, all categories have performed strongly, with luxury, perfume and cosmetics, liquor, gold and electronics seeing particularly strong returns.-TradeArabia News Service