UAE. Dubai Duty Free today announced a record half-year sales performance, posting a +5.34% year-on-year increase to AED4.118 billion (US$1.128 billion).
The six-month performance surpassed the previous record high, set in 2024, by AED208.95 million (US$57.24 million).
As reported, the airport retailer recorded robust growth in April and May, a performance which continued during the pre-Middle East disruption first half of June.
Sales were buoyed by a surge in travel over the Eid holiday and the early summer travel season.
Dubai Duty Free Managing Director Ramesh Cidambi said, “We are very pleased with our record performance for the first half of 2025. Whilst we await the final passenger numbers for June 2025, the spend per passenger is likely to be better than last June.
“This performance is a testament to our team’s hard work and the strength of Dubai as a global travel hub.”
Dubai Duty Free remains optimistic for the second half of the year, with preparations underway for a busy summer and traditional busy last quarter.
“We are looking forward to an equally busy second half of the year. Plans are very much in place for the opening of three luxury boutiques in Terminal 3 Concourse A, including Louis Vuitton, Chanel and Cartier,” added Cidambi.
Perfumes, liquor, tobacco products, gold and confectionery retained the top five category positions.
Perfume sales rose +5% year-on-year to AED744.24 million (US$203.90 million) contributing 18% of total revenue. Liquor followed with sales of AED513.37 million (US$140.65 million), while tobacco products saw a +12.24% increase year-on-year to AED439.91 million (US$120.52 million).
Gold sales grew +6.14% to 416.90 million (US$114.22 million), contributing 10.12% of total revenue.
Confectionery in particular continued to demonstrate strong growth, driven by the sustained momentum of the Dubai Chocolate sub-sector. Total confectionery sales surged +62.70% year-on-year (the Dubai Chocolate category was only introduced in October 2024) to AED412.52 million (US$113.02 million), accounting for 10% of total revenue.
Another notable increase was seen with cosmetics, where sales rose +3.36% to AED201.51 million (US$55.21 million) contributing 4.89% of total revenue.
Spending trends across terminals continued to increase with duty-free sales in Terminal 3 increasing +6.37% for the first half of the year, while Terminal 1 turnover rose +5.25%.
All key passenger regions showed positive sales during the first half of the year, with Europe up +16.89%, the Russian region ahead +4.41%, the Indian-sub continent up rising +1.02% and the Middle East growing +8.15%.
Looking ahead, Dubai Duty Free will continue to enhance its retail operation following the successful renovations of its three arrivals shops in the first half of the year.
Look out for Martin Moodie’s detailed on-location film interview with Ramesh Cidambi via Moodie Davitt STUDIO in coming days. ✈
