As many of our readers may know, Gisèle Bachand, founder of duty free store Boutique Hors-taxes de Philipsburg in Quebec, Canada, passed away on March 7th at the age of 92. The amazing Gisèle opened the Philipsburg duty free store in 1988 at the age of 63–operating as president and buyer for more than 23 years. As […]
Canada
Crystal Head brings sense of place to Montreal
Canadian brand Crystal Head Vodka has installed its first permanent personalized wall display at Aer Rianta International North America’s international departures store at Montreal Trudeau International Airport. The custom-built unit was launched in December 2018, says Pauline Bonhomme, Buyer at ARI Montreal Airport. “The objective is to enhance and amplify the brand image, introduce newness […]
GTAA plans major new development at Toronto Pearson with The Design Studio
he Greater Toronto Airport Authority (GTAA) recently appointed London-based The Design Solution to carry out the commercial planning across terminals 1 and 2 as well as the environmental design of the commercial areas of Terminal 3 at Toronto Pearson International Airport. The project marks the sixth collaboration between The Design Solution and GTAA, extending back […]
Canada breaks its tourism record for second year in a row
For the second consecutive year, Canada had its best tourism year ever in 2018 with 21.13 million travelers to the country, according to Destination Canada, Canada’s national marketing organization. This is an increase of 1.2% from 2017, which had previously set the record. US visitors (14.44 million, +1.4%) continued to make up the majority of […]
YVR announces revamped Food and Beverage and Retail options
Working with SSP Canada, San Francisco-based boutique airport restaurant operator Tastes on the Fly, and Paradies Lagardère, the new options include many first-time concepts to YVR, and will complement the airport’s existing portfolio of more than 170 shops, services and restaurants located before and after security. “Our vision for YVR’s commercial experience is to remain […]
Canadian airport DF sales up 6% in 2018, land border sales flat
Duty free sales at Canadian airports reached $486.6 million in 2018, up 6.65% versus 2017, reports the Canada Border Services Agency. Perfume, Cosmetics, Skincare, the number one category in Canada’s airports with 37.47% of sales, jumped 11.97% for the year. Number two category Alcohol (20% of sales) rose 3.3% in 2018. Tobacco, with 10% of sales, increased 10.63%. […]
Vancouver International Airport’s traffic soars to new record in 2018
Vancouver International Airport (YVR) had another year of record-breaking growth in 2018, welcoming more than 25.9 million passengers, a 7.3% increase over 2017. YVR reached its 25 million passenger milestone two years ahead of its forecast. More than 12.1 million domestic passengers traveled through the airport in 2018, up 6.1%. Inter-national passengers (including transborder) reached […]
Sault Ste. Marie Duty Free: Fishing for partners in the North
In TMI’s continuing series on the Gold Standard winners of the Frontier Duty Free Association for 2018, Sault Ste. Marie Duty Free Store nabbed the top Marketing award by taking partnership marketing to a new level in order to increase its day to day customer base. Located on the Canadian side of the International Bridge […]
FDFA 2018 General Operators Meeting opening session: FDFA President Abe Taqtaq reviews past year with pride and optimism
FDFA President Abe Taqtaq, of Windsor-Detroit Tunnel Duty Free Shop, opened the 2018 Operator General meeting with a very upbeat welcome. “This year I am more excited and optimistic to open our meeting knowing what is in store for the FDFA future,” he said, discussing the enthusiasm and accomplishments of the current Board of Directors, which was elected two […]
IGL Duty Free wins FDFA’s Best New Idea Award with WeChat/Alipay options
Montreal-based Importations Guay Ltee. (IGL) won the Best New Idea Award at the Frontier Duty Free Association’s Gold Standard Awards at its annual convention in Toronto last week by introducing payment options for its growing base of Chinese customers. IGL, which has seen an influx of Chinese visitors over the past several years with […]
New FDFA Executive Director spells out programs and goals
Barbara Barrett, the FDFA’s new Executive Director, enthusiastically greeted the association’s operator members, before updating them on Communications, Stakeholder Relations, Member Outreach and Government Relations. “Your board has accomplished so much; it is a thrill to work with this board. And I am really looking forward to work with the rest of you (the members) and get to […]
FDFA Convention welcomes new format and director
The 2018 Frontier Duty Free Convention, which took place Nov. 3-7 in Toronto, was a watershed event for Canada’s duty free association. It ushered in a new format in a new venue as well as welcoming a new Executive Director and a highly-respected public affairs agency. The new format is a process, explained FDFA vice president […]
FDFA’s new Executive Director discusses Advocacy and Future for TR industry in Canada
One on One with Barbara Barrett, FDFA Executive Director The Frontier Duty Free Association (FDFA) announced a new strategic direction for its land border duty free association in August when it appointed Barbara Barrett as the association’s new Executive Director and appointed advocacy firm Impact Public Affairs to be a proactive advocacy voice in Ottawa. […]
Quebec City announces new $30 million cruise port development
Québec City announced last week that it will be making a major investment for the construction of a second cruise terminal. The project, which is set to be completed by 2020, will allow the Port to accommodate ships with more than 4,000 passengers. The Port will invest $10 million, the Government of Québec will contribute $15 million to the […]
FDFA announces “new strategic direction” with appointment of advocacy firm and executive director
The Frontier Duty Free Association (FDFA) Board of Directors has appointed Barbara Barrett to serve as the association’s new executive director. She replaces Laurie Karson, who left the role last September after 12 years at the helm of the industry association. Barrett brings over 20 years of high level public affairs expertise to FDFA. She […]
