SAUDI ARABIA. Riyadh Airport Company (RAC) has underlined the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia’s growing prominence as a travel retail hotspot in reporting its fourth highest ever duty free sales month in February at King Khalid International Airport. The business grew by +33.5% measured against the same month in pre-pandemic 2019.
Higher sales numbers have only previously been recorded in December 2021, December 2019 and January 2020, the airport company revealed. In the year-to-date, duty free sales are up +28% on 2019.
RAC also revealed that international car park revenue is reflecting the post-COVID recovery trend, with revenue up +22% for February in comparison to 2019, and +18% for the year-to-date.
Reflecting on the positive results, RAC Acting VP Commercial Abdulaziz Al Asaker said: “These are exciting and unprecedented times in Riyadh as the country moves towards realising KSA’s Aviation Strategy and Vision 2030. We are delighted to see how strongly the business has returned to KKIA.”
He added: “With the continued relaxation of COVID restrictions locally and internationally, and working closely with our retail and commercial partners, airlines and other stakeholders, we expect to see this momentum build further as the year progresses.”
Note: The Moodie Davitt Report recently announced a new publication that will explore Saudia Arabia’s burgeoning aviation, travel and tourism sectors with a special emphasis on retail, mixed-leisure and other related commercial revenue sectors.
The Saudi Travel Ecosystem Report, to be published in June in Arabic and English, will take a deep dive into one of the world’s most exciting, investment-heavy and resurgent travel-related markets.
For editorial details please contact Martin Moodie (Martin@MoodieDavittReport.com). For commercial opportunities it’s Irene Revilla (Irene@MoodieDavittReport.com) or Sarah Genest (Sarah@MoodieDavittReport.com).
