Duty-free shops fail to woo flyers

Mumbai: India’s duty-free shops have an abysmal record when it comes to attracting air travellers. While the average spends per passenger are around $18 worldwide and $8 even in countries like Sri Lanka where the passenger traffic is comparatively lower, at duty free shops in India this figure falls to a low of $1.5 on an average per person.
This despite the fact that passengers from the Indian sub-continent generate over 30% of the total revenues in the famous Dubai duty-free shops, according to a research by Alpha Airports which has tied up with Pantaloon Retail to set up duty-free shops at several airports.
Retail analysts feel that duty-free shops should provide a proposition, which high streets or malls do not provide in that particular country.
Indian airports have been generating majority of their revenues from aeronautical services like airport charges. The ratio of aeronautical and non-aeronautical revenues is 85:15 in India, while it is almost 50:50 in developed countries.
08/10/06 Sagar Malviya/Financial Express

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