Duty-free shop

Duty-free shops (or stores) are retail outlets that are exempt from the payment of certain local or national taxes and duties, on the requirement that the goods sold will be sold to travelers who will take them out of the country. Which products can be sold duty-free vary by jurisdiction, as well as how they can be sold, and the process of calculating the duty or refund the duty component.

However, some countries impose duty on goods brought into the country, though they had been bought duty-free in another country, or when the value or quantity of such goods exceed an allowed limit. Duty-free shops are often found in the international zone of international airports, sea ports, and train stations but goods can be also bought duty-free on board airplanes and passenger ships. They are not as commonly available for road or train travelers, although several border crossings between the United States and both Canada and Mexico have duty-free shops for car travelers. In some countries, any shop can participate in a reimbursement system, such as Global Blue and Premier Tax Free where a sum equivalent to the tax is paid, but then the goods are presented to the customs and the sum reimbursed on exit.

Dubai Duty Free

Dubai Duty Free (DDF) is the company responsible for the duty-free operations at Dubai International Airport. DDF became the largest airport retailer in the world in terms of sales in 2012. DDF represents over 5% of global duty-free sales, generating 2014 revenues of $1.91 billion.

Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum, the uncle of the ruler of Dubai, is the company's chairman and Colm McLoughlin is the Executive Vice Chairman. DDF is a subsidiary of the government-owned Investment Corporation of Dubai.

The company began operations at Dubai International Airport in December 1983.

Foundation

Aer Rianta, the operating company behind the world's first duty free in Shannon Airport, was invited to present a proposal for the operations and management of a Duty Free operation at Dubai International Airport. Up until this point, the airport had been served by a number of retail concessions, basically stalls managed by traders from the city of Dubai. Presented to Sheikh Mohammed by Director-General of Dubai Civil Aviation, Mohi-Din Binhendi, the proposal was accepted but with the caveat to make the duty free double the size of that proposed and to open it within six months.

Dubai

Dubai (/duːˈbaɪ/ doo-BY; Arabic: دبي‎ Dubayy, Gulf pronunciation: [dʊˈbɑj]) is the most populous city in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). It is located on the southeast coast of the Persian Gulf and is one of the seven emirates that make up the country. Abu Dhabi and Dubai are the only two emirates to have veto power over critical matters of national importance in the country's legislature. The city of Dubai is located on the emirate's northern coastline and heads up the Dubai-Sharjah-Ajman metropolitan area. Dubai is to host World Expo 2020.

Dubai has emerged as a global city and business hub of the Middle East. It is also a major transport hub for passengers and cargo. By the 1960s Dubai's economy was based on revenues from trade and, to a smaller extent, oil exploration concessions, but oil was not discovered until 1966. Oil revenue first started to flow in 1969. Dubai's oil revenue helped accelerate the early development of the city, but its reserves are limited and production levels are low: today, less than 5% of the emirate's revenue comes from oil. The emirate's Western-style model of business drives its economy with the main revenues now coming from tourism, aviation, real estate, and financial services. Dubai has recently attracted world attention through many innovative large construction projects and sports events. The city has become iconic for its skyscrapers and high-rise buildings, in particular the world's tallest building, the Burj Khalifa. Dubai has been criticised for human rights violations concerning the city's largely South Asian workforce. Dubai's property market experienced a major deterioration in 2008–09 following the financial crisis of 2007–08, but the emirate's economy has made a return to growth, with a projected 2015 budget surplus.

Dubai International Airport

Dubai International Airport (IATA: DXB, ICAO: OMDB) (Arabic: مطار دبي الدولي‎) is the primary airport serving Dubai, United Arab Emirates and is the world's busiest airport by international passenger traffic. It is also the 3rd busiest airport in the world by passenger traffic, the 6th busiest cargo airport in world and the busiest hub for the Airbus A380. In 2015, DXB handled 78 million passengers, 2.51 million tonnes of cargo and registered 403,517 aircraft movements.

Dubai International is situated in the Al Garhoud district, 2.5 nautical miles (4.6 km; 2.9 mi) east of Dubai and spread over an area of 2,900 hectares (7,200 acres) of land. The airport is operated by the Dubai Airports Company and is the home base of Dubai's international airlines, Emirates and flydubai. The Emirates hub is the largest airline hub in the Middle East; Emirates handles around 65% of all passenger traffic and accounts for about 45% of all aircraft movements at the airport. Dubai Airport is also the base for low-cost carrier flydubai which handles 11.6% of passenger traffic at DXB. The airport consists of three terminals and has a total capacity of 75 million passengers annually. Terminal 3 is the second largest building in the world by floor space and the largest airport terminal in the world. As of January 2016, there are over 7,700 weekly flights operated by 140 airlines to over 270 destinations across all six inhabited continents.

Free

Media

Arts and philosophy

Computing

Mathematics