The vaccination process is going forward in South America, albeit slowly, reported José Luis Donagaray, Secretary General of South American Duty Free Association ASUTIL during a far-ranging webinar last Wednesday. With an average of only 18% of the population currently fully vaccinated in the region, Donagaray confirms that the region is still far behind North […]
South America
Lagardère wins Lima DF concession with pioneering profit-sharing business model
Travel retail operator Lagardère and Lima Airport Partners (LAP) have announced that the French company will take over the master duty free concession at Jorge Chavez International Airport in Peru. The two companies signed a long-term agreement that goes into effect from January 2022. LAP is part of the Fraport Group. The concession contract is […]
New allowances and more stores announced at Brazil border conference
South American Duty Free Association, ASUTIL, and CEFSU, the Chamber of Uruguayan Free Shops, held a two-day virtual conference on Nov. 24-25, that examined new opportunities arising from the opening of duty free shops on the Brazilian border, during which government officials unveiled increased duty free allowances and details of new store openings. Originally planned […]
ASUTIL preparing for “the day after”
South American Duty Free Association ASUTIL continues to work diligently with its members and other industry partners looking for ways to ease the financial burden on retailers as a result of the coronavirus pandemic that is decimating travel and travel retail. “People are afraid to travel. The world has stopped. The industry has stopped,” said […]
Enrique Urioste joins Dufry in key South American role as Oscar Garcia Pedrosa prepares to retire
Enrique Urioste, one of the Americas most recognized and respected travel retail operators, is joining travel retail giant Dufry as Cluster General manager for South America (excluding Brazil). He assumes the new role as of January 1, 2020. Urioste will replace Oscar Garcia Pedrosa, who will retire in mid-2020. From his initial introduction as the first Secretary General of South […]
SSP opens its first food and beverage units in Brazil
SSP Group, in a partnership with Duty Free Americas, has opened its first outlets at Brazil’s two main international airports, Rio de Janeiro Tom Jobim International Airport (RIOgaleão) and São Paulo International Airport (GRU Airport). The new units are the first to open under a joint venture partnership between SSP and DFA, following the win of […]
InterBaires/Dufry win Rosario tender
Buenos Aires-based InterBaires, a fully owned subsidiary of Dufry, has won the tender to redesign, operate and manage the duty free stores at Rosario International Airport in Argentina. Rosario Airport, situated just over 300 km north of Buenos Aires, is one of the few airports in Argentina that is not operated by Aeropuertos Argentina 2000 […]
Duty free allowances to increase in Brazil
Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro’s Twitter announcement that the Brazilian government will confirm new duty free allowances within the next few days came as no surprise to Latin American duty free industry observers. The current allowances have been in place since 1991 and over the last few months there have been several calls to bring them […]
South American duty free sales struggle as regional recovery stalls
The duty free business in the Mercosur countries has continued to struggle in the first four months of this year, with expected improvements in Argentina and Brazil stalled, likely until the end of the year. ASUTIL Secretary General José Luis Donagaray told media in a webinar this week that the industry does not expect to […]
First Brazil border shops could open before year end
Brazil may finally see the opening of its first duty free border stores in December, following the election of Jair Bolsonaro who will succeed Michel Temer as president on January 1. ASUTIL Secretary General Jose Luis Donagaray, in a press briefing held last week, says he expects one or two small operators could open the […]
Dufry extends its retail concessions at Brazil’s São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro airports, and greatly expands retail space
Dufry Group today has reconfirmed its commitment to Brazil and its confidence in the potential growth ahead for the country, announcing major concession contract extensions with expanded new space in the key airports of Sao Paulo and Rio de Janeiro. The new space encompasses both duty free and duty-paid retail, including the opening of […]
Mosquito viruses threaten travel in the Americas
As if plunging economies and unfavorable currency exchange weren’t enough to worry the Americas travel industry, a growing portion of the region is now under threat from two mosquito borne diseases, the Zika virus in the Caribbean and Latin America, and dengue fever in Hawaii. The current outbreak of the Zika virus, which is transmitted […]
Brazil faces worst recession since 1901
Bloomberg News has reported that Brazil won’t return to growth until at least 2018 after two years of recession and one of stagnation, according to the International Monetary Fund. This would mark the first time in over a century that Latin America’s largest economy fails to expand for that long. On Tuesday, the IMF cut […]
Argentina: lifting of currency restrictions should spur tourism
Europe could be seeing an influx of visitors from Argentina now that the new Government has lifted currency restrictions and the artificial exchange rate, which were limiting inbound and outbound travel, according to London-based JacTravel. The agency is forecasting steady growth of Argentine tourists in the coming months as the changes kick in. “Travel to […]
How Uruguay’s Melancia Mall aims to change shopping on the Brazilian border
A TRAVEL MARKETS INSIDER SPECIAL REPORT By John Gallagher On Thursday, November 5 of this year, the US$70 million Melancia Mall, the largest shopping complex in Northern Uruguay, opened its doors on the outskirts of the border town of Rivera. Originally scheduled to open in the first quarter of 2014, poor weather –including heavy […]
