Airport Shopping Has Never Been Better 

If you like shopping and traveling, then you’ll love airport shopping. Almost every airport in the world offers shops now. You can have the best of both consumer worlds. 

This is particularly true in the European Union. In fact, London Heathrow Airport has tax free and duty free shopping for airline passengers. Can’t argue with that! 

You can shop for sunglasses, tobacco products, designer clothes and perfume. At each of its four terminals, the London international airport, famous worldwide for being the most trafficked airport on the planet, offers non-tax shopping on thousands of goods including wines and spirits. The airport even offers a service where passengers can make purchases before flying and pick up their purchases when they return to the airport at a later date. This is a free service to passengers flying within the European Union. 

You can also take advantage of airport terminal shopping in Shannon, Cork and Dublin, proving there’s more to Ireland than beautiful landscapes and great beer. Dublin boasts more than 25 shops, bars and cafes on The Street, its famous airport avenue. Irish airport shopping is also tax and duty free, whether you are purchasing confections, tobacco products, liquor or clothes. 

There is no limit to the types of products available to purchase while shopping at airports. Newsstands have always been a convenient storefront. But most airport newsstands now carry novels, nonfiction books, erotic paperbacks and magazines, and you can’t walk through an airport anymore without seeing a string of fast food restaurants. But what about shopping online? Yes, you can do that too. 

The Internet has its own set of windows to browse for the best in airport shopping. You have web site like www.dutyfreeshoppingindex.com that allow you to shop online before you leave for the airport and even while in flight. At this virtual shopping mall you can read the latest news on such world-class destinations as Singapore, Moscow, Dubai, London, Paris, Stockholm, and your favorite Deity knows where.  

Speaking of Dubai, the Dubai International Airport in the United Arab Emirates is one of the most impressive airports in the world. Its Dubai Duty Free offers some of the most spectacular shopping in the atmosphere. In 2004, the airport shopping mall received its fourth Airport Retailer of the Year Award with almost 11 million sales transactions. At this airport wonder of the world, you can purchase gold, world-class perfumes, electronics, cameras, and virtually anything you can purchase at your hometown market. 

Even American airports are getting into the supreme shopping experience of airport consumerism. Sea-Tac Airport in Seattle, Washington has a tremendous shopping experience for travelers, including art exhibits. The airport features such fabulous works of art as sculptures in acrylic, wood, and bone, mixed media presentations, stainless steel art, portraits, and hand-cut glass and stone terrazzo mosaics. Each concourse and terminal has its own renderings of beauty for those passing through and for those who just want to stay awhile and browse. 

All the major international airports have web sites that allow you to browse their shopping malls. The Changi Airport in Singapore has a web site that is so easy to navigate you’d think you were sitting in your living room. Of course, whether you shop in your pajamas or in your business suit while riding first class, airport shopping is an experience you won’t find anywhere else. Changi’s Terminal 2 boasts of a spanking brand new Mercedes Benz boutique, complete with displays of model cars, children’s toys, and lifestyle accessories. 

And don’t count the Aussies out either. Down Under you can shop at the Auckland airport or in Melbourne. Either way, you are sure to get duty free merchandise whether you are stopping over, coming or going. Clothes, stationery, flowers, pharmaceuticals, food, and haircuts – these are just some of the items you can purchase in the finest Australian airports. And, of course, banking was never easier. 

It doesn’t matter where you travel, you are bound to have an incredible shopping experience in the world’s most luxurious international airports. The next time you plan your travel, whether it be a vacation or a business trip, plan to leave a little early and browse the airport’s shopping windows. You’ll be glad you did.