Tax-free, duty-free… We hear these terms a lot, but what do they mean? Tax-free shopping means no VAT, as long as your journey starts and ends in a European Union country. Duty-free shopping means no VAT or excise duty. Duty-free disappeared in the EU in 1999 and now only travellers who start or end their travels outside the EU can snap up these kinds of deals.
What sort of savings might you find when tax-free or duty-free shopping? Well, we’d like a pair of cut-price sunglasses, some posh perfume without a posh price and some low-cost luxury chocolates. You could throw in some cheap electronic goods too, just while we’re at it. Where might you bag the best bargains? Read on for Cheapflights’ favourite airports for super shopping.
Dubai International Airport
Do buy. Dubai International has been the world’s leading (based on total sales) duty-free retailer for a couple of years now. Alcohol, perfumes and gold are the must-buys in the Sheikh Rashid Terminal (also known as the Concourse), home to the majority of the shops. Open 24/7, there’s 5,400 square metres of retail heaven.
London Heathrow Airport
Our own fair Heathrow boasts 48,000 square metres of retail space over its five terminals and the prices range from pocket money up to premium. You’ll find the perfumes, skin care products, alcohol and chocolates in all terminals, but if you want designer gear, Terminal 3 is where you’ll find brands such as Armani, Dior, Gucci and Cartier. Terminal 5, opened with much fanfare in 2008, aims to showcase the best of British to departing passengers. Mulberry, Paul Smith, Links of London, and Smythson fly the flag for British design and craftsmanship.
Seoul Incheon Airport
Korea’s main international gateway is the third-largest for duty-free shopping after Dubai and Heathrow. Its most popular items are perfumes, cosmetics, alcohol and cigarettes. A first for the Shilla Duty Free Shop is Louis Vuitton. The luxury brand picked it as the world’s first LV airport shop.
Amsterdam Airport Schiphol
“See, buy, fly” is the famous slogan. Schiphol works hard to maintain its position as a top shopping airport with hefty discounts and promotions such as “buy two, get three”. Travellers can check out the current offers on Schiphol’s website. A pair of tulip-patterned clogs, a tulip vase with seven arms or a music box windmill? Don’t forget the Gouda…
And if you get tired of shopping (what, never!), Schipol Airport has it’s own museum to peruse while you wait for your gate to open. Check out some more unexpected airport services here.
Singapore Changi International Airport
Changi’s 300 shops, across more than 40,000 square metres, attract not just those waiting for their flights to depart but local Singaporeans too! The “Flying Or Not, You Shop We Absorb” programme sees shops absorbing the Goods and Services Tax (7 per cent). There’s also a 100 per cent money-back guarantee, no quibble. Cosmetics and alcohol are the best buys. All in all, an uplifting experience.
O.R. Tambo International Airport
Voted best in Africa and winning plaudits for its airport shopping too, Johannesburg has more than 100 shops selling everything from trinkets in Accessorize to high-end luxury leather goods. It’s not the cheapest airport in the world, but still boasts discounts of 40 per cent on prices downtown.
Hong Kong International Airport
Hong Kong’s famous shopping culture can be enjoyed right up to departure. SkyMart in Terminal 1 and SkyPlaza in Terminal 2 have the kind of retail space you’d expect from this city. SkyMart has a “Downtown Pricing Guarantee”, so the price you pay at the airport will not be higher than what you would pay in the city centre. It’s not all about high end goods either – there’s a good mix of products but cosmetics win out as best value.
Frankfurt Airport
A mindboggling fact: Frankfurt Airport’s retail offerings would cover four football pitches. The airport, Germany’s busiest, is another airfield trying to attract Frankfurters to its stores. Stores offer everything to make a weary traveller’s eyes light up with excitement – discounts on brand-name perfumes and colognes, a superb range of spirits and tobacco and seasonal discounts in the order of 30 per cent.
Zurich Airport
Zurich calls its shopping offering “paradise”. And it might well be. Switzerland is one of the last places in Europe where flyers can still buy duty-free goods. Perfumes, cosmetics, alcohol, tobacco and, of course, fine Swiss chocolates can all be pre-ordered via their site if you’re all about the bargains. If you’re all about the browsing, then you’ll be in your element too, with the shops displaying all the finest Swiss brands. Flyers who pick up goods worth more than CHF 250 can go through Fast Track security too (as long as the assistant stamps your card). Paradise indeed.
Helsinki Airport
The airport to the north (well, Finland, actually), Helsinki is beautifully designed. Its airport shopping spans the locally produced Finnish delicacies such as reindeer meat and caviar and high-end perfumes and cosmetics. Along with Gucci and the like, travellers can browse through the products of Timanttiset, Finland’s leading retailer of watches and jewellery.
(Images: mamamusings / binderdonedat / dahlstroms)
