CHINA. ‘New Mindset. New Development. New Models’ is the theme for the Civil Aviation Non-Aeronautical Business & Duty-Free Development Innovation Summit and Airport Commercial Development Conference, which takes place this week in Urumqi, northwest China.
The event began yesterday (28 October) with an opening ceremony at Urumqi Tianshan International Airport, gateway to Xinjiang province.
The three-day event is co-organised by Xinjiang Airport Group and China Duty Free Group (CDFG), with The Moodie Davitt Report represented as exclusive industry media partner. Attending the event are China Chief Representative Zhang Yimei and China Editor Dachang Wang.
The summit brings together airports, duty-free retailers, others commercial service providers and industry experts to explore value creation in the airport non-aeronautical business and how to drive innovation in duty-free retail.
The event features a site visit to Urumqi Airport, multiple keynote presentations and thematic roundtables covering topics from business innovation, digital ecosystem development and F&B upgrades to IP empowerment, port duty-free operations and enhancing the passenger experience.
It also includes a one-on-one business matchmaking session designed to connect the full airport commercial chain from planning to operations.
At the opening ceremony, industry stakeholders led by CDFG discussed sector transformation. They assessed how domestic airports are accelerating a shift from transport hubs to becoming consumer destinations, and how non-aeronautical business must move beyond the traditional price-differential model toward refined operations centred on experience and value.
CDFG Deputy General Manager Wang Yanguang spelled out the group’s strategic direction amid this transition.
The company, he noted, is driving airport duty-free retail from a narrow offering dominated by fragrances& cosmetics and liquor & tobacco towards diversified, premium and scenario-based retail. It is doing this by leveraging partnerships with over 1,600 brands worldwide and consumer insights from more than 64 million loyalty programme members.
CDFG is committed to reshaping the airport consumption landscape by continuously exploring an integrated model that combines duty-free, duty-paid, experience and VIP services, Wang added.
Among these efforts, the cdf AIRTopia concept, which infuses regional culture and commercial spaces, has been implemented at Lanzhou Zhongchuan Airport, where Silk Road cultural elements are embedded in design and offer.
Wang noted that the project underscores the opportunity to upgrade airport commercial offerings from transit-based purchases to destination-driven spending. This provides a useful reference for commercial upgrades at airports along the Silk Road, he added.
As Belt and Road cooperation continues to deepen, China’s northwestern province of Xinjiang has been positioned as a core area of the Silk Road Economic Belt. [The Belt and Road initiative is a major global infrastructure and economic development strategy pursued by the Chinese government since 2013.]
Urumqi Tianshan International Airport, a key hub in northwest China, boasts a route network connecting domestic cities and reaching across Asia and Europe. The summit aims to leverage the province’s geographical importance and industrial foundation to explore airport commercial development pathways.
Xinjiang Airport Group Deputy General Manager Yang Hongfeng noted that the group has been advancing airport commercial development in line with its westward-facing positioning as a regional hub.
Xinjiang Airport has established a ‘three networks, three rings’ route system linking the province to Asia and the rest of the world, with 707 routes operating as of Q3 2026, including 78 international passenger and cargo routes.
Passenger throughput across Xinjiang’s airports in the first nine months exceeded 45 million, up +7.5% year-on-year.
Urumqi Airport alone served 24.23 million passengers, up +7.7% year-on-year, ranking Urumqi among China’s top ten aviation cities for the first time — a milestone that underscores its accelerating hub value at the geographic centre of Asia and Europe, Yang added.
“Xinjiang Airport Group welcomes partners to bring first-store debuts, duty-free retail and digital and cultural experiences to Urumqi Airport. We look forward to working together with you to make the airport the primary showcase of Xinjiang’s image and a premier consumption destination for domestic and international travellers, sharing in the opportunities of westward opening,” he concluded.
Addressing the audience, The Moodie Davitt Report China Chief Representative Zhang Yimei analysed the industry landscape from a global perspective.
She noted that China’s airport duty-free sector has entered a new stage of development, marked by expanded shops, restructuring of operating rights and a recovery in inbound traffic. The industry is shifting from scale expansion to refined operations, while facing challenges such as homogenised offerings and intense competition from other channels.
“The theme of this summit speaks directly to these pain points,” she said. “And holding the event in Urumqi in particular will help connect domestic and international industry resources, advance Chinese brands going global, and optimise experience-driven retail, ultimately building more momentum and consensus for high-quality industry development.” ✈
