Syria’s General Organization for Trade and Distribution (GOTA), the state-owned duty free shops operator, reported a $20 sales volume in the first nine months of 2001. Revenues were the result of a wide range of new products on display in showrooms throughout the country, Director General Kamal Al-Faqeer told Al-Sharq Al-Awsat.
GOTA duty free showrooms stock cigarettes and tobacco products, spirits and liquor, perfumes, gifts, garments, neckties, leather goods, jewelry, watches, computers and office supplies. The duty free outlets also offer for purchase with foreign currency some locally made goods, such as TV sets and furniture manufactured by public sector enterprises.
The organization sells these products in its authorized shops directly to the consumers, upon the presentation of a foreign passport. Payment is made in US or Lebanese hard currency only. Duty free retail outlets are to be found in hotels and free zones throughout Syria, including Damascus, Aleppo, Latakia and Tartous.
Operating under the umbrella of the Ministry of Economy and Foreign Trade, GOTA imports various commodities from appointed agents, as follows: computers and office equipment through Olivetti; watches by Tissot, Omega, Romer, Olma; lighters by ST Dupont; pens by Sheaffers; and razors from Gillette. Importation of tobacco and spirits products into Syria is restricted to the GOTA organization alone.
At the Damascus International Airport, Aer Rianta International Middle East manages and supplies the Damascus Duty Free Store (DDFS) since 1997. A five-year contract was signed with Rami Makhlouf, who holds the concession to operate the duty free retail facilities at Syria’s main airport.
One of the cheapest duty free shopping facilities in the Middle East, the 600 square meter shop is located in the airport terminal building and operates on a 24-hour basis. It is a small but well-stocked shop that is accessible to both arrival and departure passengers. Syrian currency is not accepted in the DDFS, payments are rather made in US dollars or with credit cards.
The Irish Aer Rianta company incorporated its regional operations in Bahrain in 1993. Its operations spread to Kuwait, Qatar, Lebanon, Syria, Cyprus, and Pakistan, and generated a combined turnover of $175 million in 1998, according to company figures. — (menareport.com)
© 2001 Mena Report (www.menareport.com)
