BAHRAIN. In a massive boost to its business, Bahrain Duty Free has had its duty free contract at Bahrain airport extended for another 25 years with the Civil Aviation Authority.
Bahrain Duty Free’s contract now runs to 2028. Bahrain Duty Free is a privately-listed company on the Bahrain stock exchange, in which Aer Rianta International-Middle East is a shareholder.
“It’s fabulous news,” said Aer Rianta International-Middle East managing director John Sutcliffe. “As a listed company, it gives Bahrain Duty Free further stability and potential to grow.
“It’s a partnership with the Civil Aviation Authority who share in the operating profit [of Bahrain Duty Free]. We’re in the middle of this as Aer Rianta and growing with it, so we’re very happy.”
The news provides the perfect note for the 10th birthday of Aer Rianta International-Middle East (ARI-ME). Senior ARI-ME executives and other leading figures from the duty free industry are flying in to Bahrain today as the regional powerhouse celebrates a decade in business.
The celebrations include a golf tournament on Monday and a gala dinner in the evening.
ARI-ME was set up in 1993 and now enjoys a powerful retail and wholesale presence in many countries within the region. They include Bahrain, Qatar, Lebanon, Cyprus, Kuwait and Oman.
The company’s duty free stores are much respected and the revamped Bahrain Duty Free retail complex is widely considered one of the best in the world. Beirut Duty Free, run in tandem with local partners (Phoenicia Trading Afro/Asia), is arguably the travel industry’s most impressive opening this year.
Click here for background story on ARI-ME.
Click here for our special “Picture Gallery” report on Beirut Duty Free.
The Moodie Report joins with the industry in congratulating managing director John Sutcliffe and his ARI-ME team for their achievements in the Middle East over the past decade.
