TURKEY. Unifree served a record number of Chinese passengers during its Golden Week shopping event at Istanbul Airport, which ran from 27 September to 10 October. The total number of customers at Unifree stores topped 110,000 in one week thanks to the momentum created by the shopping promotion, spurring sales to a record high for the period.
Golden Week, a key holiday and shopping season in China and many other Asian nations, was celebrated as a festival of shopping and culture at the Unifree stores.
Unifree, incorporated in 1975 by the Bilginer and Üstünkaya families, is the Turkish partner of German travel retailer Gebr Heinemann. Unifree operates 134 duty free shops in 24 airports across nine countries.
Unifree CEO Ali Şenher said that the daily number of Chinese customers at Unifree jumped to an average 1,060 during the Golden Week compared to a typical 600. “We keep working on other shopping and cultural events to be held for other nationalities at Istanbul Airport,” he commented.
Chinese passengers generated 11% of sales during the campaign, compared with the previous 8%, underlining the success of the targeted promotion.
Şenher noted: “We reached the highest sales figures during the week since the opening of Istanbul Airport. The total number of Chinese passengers who shopped during the week was over 5,400, pushing weekly sales up by +74%. Thanks to the momentum created by the event that has attracted many other nationalities besides Chinese and other Asian consumers, the total number of customers shopping at Unifree Duty Free stores during the Golden Week exceeded 110,000.”
Chinese tourism to Turkey tripled in a decade
The number of Chinese visitors to Turkey has increased tremendously over the past ten years, said Şenher. “The number of tourists visiting our country from the People’s Republic of China was around 150,000 in 2008 and over 400,000 in 2018,” he noted. “Fuelled mainly by the declaration of ‘Turkey Tourism Year’ in 2018, many tour operators in China have started adding Turkish destinations to their tour packages. We predict that around 600,000 Chinese tourists will visit Turkey in 2019 and most will be arriving via Istanbul. That makes Golden Week even more significant for us.”
Chinese women spend more than men
Chinese passengers visiting Istanbul as part of summer tour packages are mostly tourists over 40 years of age, noted Şenher. “During the winter season, on the other hand, business travellers with higher income will replace diminishing tourist numbers to a great extent. Ongoing progress for the Istanbul Airport and our country as a whole, and generating a culturally diverse passenger portfolio, are achievable only by adopting a global vision that is centred around welcoming and hosting our passengers in the best possible ways.”
There is plenty of room for growth, Şenher pointed out. Of more than 15 million Chinese tourists who visited Europe in 2018, Turkey attracted just 400,000. In contrast to the average Istanbul Airport profile, female Chinese shoppers outnumbered males, and they also spent more, especially those around the ages of 28 and 29. Basket size usually tends to increase after 30 years of age, Unifree said, reaching a peak €150 per basket for those shoppers between 40 and 42.
Istanbul Airport – a haven for different cultures
Noting Golden Week’s epicentre of China National Day Şenher said: “We offered training to our personnel who would take part in the Golden Week operation… with seminars on Chinese culture as well as basic Chinese language courses given by the Turkish Chinese Cultural Association.
“Although the shopping event was not meant for European passengers per se, we have never stopped working to provide Istanbul Airport’s extremely diverse guests extraordinary and special travel and shopping experiences each and every day. It is of utmost importance for us to show our respect for their culture and make them feel home.
“Additionally, thanks to events like Golden Week, we find the opportunity to share with our guests our vast and unabridged products range; special products designed solely for Istanbul Airport; and customised shopping experiences that include special product selections. Events and activities that will focus on different cultures will keep coming.”
