Doha Hamad has topped the 2024 world airport shopping ranking in the Skytrax World Airport Awards for the second year in a row. It was also named Airport of the Year, knocking Singapore Changi into second position.
Here are the top airports for shopping, including links to their Duty Free and Tax Free offers:
Top 10 Airports for Shopping
1 – Doha Hamad – Qatar Duty Free
2 – London Heathrow – Heathrow Boutique
3 – Singapore Changi – iShop Changi
4 – Paris Charles de Gaulle – Extime Duty Free
5 – Dubai – Dubai Duty Free
6 – Seoul Incheon – Lotte Duty Free
7 – Tokyo Narita – Fa-So-La Duty Free
8 – Istanbul – Shopping Directory
9 – Munich – Shopping Directory
10 – Rome Fiumicino – Rome Duty Free, Luxury Shopping Guide
The world’s 10 best airports overall
1 – Doha Hamad
2 – Singapore Changi
3 – Seoul Incheon
4 – Tokyo Haneda – TIAT Duty Free
5 – Tokyo Narita
6 – Paris Charles de Gaulle
7 – Dubai
8 – Munich
9 – Zurich – Zurich Duty Free
10 – Istanbul
Unsurprisingly, the two lists are pretty similar.
What Does This Ranking Measure?
So what does this ranking actually tell you? Unfortunately, it doesn’t paint a complete picture.
Why? Basically, because the survey is primarily numerical. Seven out of the 14 questions in the survey measured the choice of shopping, whether Duty Free or other outlets.
There was one question about pricing, but nothing about the quality of the stores or the airport’s online retail presence.
For example, in terms of quantity, Munich Airport has a large number of stores, but they’re mainly mid-level specialist shops. Munich has only a few of the high-end luxury brands the other top airports boast. Hong Kong and Bangkok have a much better range, but neither is in the top 10.
As far as pricing goes, the UK no longer allows tax free sales at airports. Except for some mid to low priced items discounted to the Tax Free price, all the high end retailers sell at the Domestic price. So, there’s little advantage vs. the high street. That means that Heathrow isn’t a very good deal. So does that sound like a top 10 shopping experience?
At Paris and Munich, you don’t get your full VAT deducted. In Munich, in fact, you have to reclaim it through Global Blue. Thus, they’re both a bit of a ripoff. Rome is the only European airport on the list that deducts the entire (22%) VAT, but it dropped from 6th to 10th place. Go figure.
Online retail presence is a bit of a mixed bag. Clearly, Heathrow is the gold standard.
Dubai, Tokyo, Seoul, and Rome are pretty good. Singapore and Paris show only the core Duty Free offer. Munich shows a limited selection of special offers. But Doha and Istanbul only show brand or shop directories.
If you want to find out what Tax Free shopping at airports is really all about, and how airports actually stack up, check out my posts on the Tax Free offer and on the Specialist, Designer, and Luxury Boutiques.
You can participate in the Skytrax World Airport Survey
The Skytrax World Airport Survey is based on online self-completion questionnaires filled out by respondents on a voluntary basis. You can participate by signing up on the World Airport Survey website when the survey opens in August.