Source: http://www.journalcr.com
Posted by Roger Vlasos
Broker/Owner
Century21 At the Beach
Playas del Coco, Guanacaste, Costa Rica
Website: http://www.century21incostarica.com
Email: roger@century21incostarica.com
(Infocom) — As part of ongoing expansion works at Liberia’s Daniel Oduber International Airport, the Mixed Social Welfare Institute (IMAS) has informed that construction of the airport’s duty-free store will begin no later than April, as the blueprints have already been approved by the Municipality of Liberia and the only thing needed is a slight design variation.
Currently, only the Juan Santamaria International Airport, in the outskirts of San Jose, has a duty-free shopping area, managed by IMAS.
The space where the shop will be located is 127 square meters in area, and investment in the establishment is nearly $275,000. According to preliminary renditions provided by IMAS, the store will feature ecologically inspired designs from the Guanacaste region, including volcanoes, forests and reptiles.
Products to be sold include spirits, perfumes, watches and beauty items. The store is expected to open next July.
Duty-free sales up
Sales at the IMAS-run duty-free stores at Juan Santamaria in the past five years reveal a sustained increase. However, almost seven years after the terrorist attacks in New York and Washington, D.C., the negative impact of these events on tourist traffic are still noticeable. In 2002 and 2003, a decrease in consumption was observed, due to the slowdown in the flight industry and airline crises. According to IMAS’ data, 2004 showed a significant recovery, with sales going from 2.9 billion colones (almost $6 million) to 5 billion colones ($10 million).
Regarding the duty-free store in Liberia, IMAS estimates it might reach 2 billion colones ($4 million) in sales, serving some 400,000 travelers.
Such recovery in consumption has been confirmed by the positive variation seen between 2004 and 2005, with sales going up by 1.6 billion colones (over $3 million). Despite the fact that sales also increased in 2006 (by 5 percent), a slowdown was observed in the rate of consumption seen in previous years.
More restrictive policies regarding the transport by passengers of liquids in planes have affected consumption habits both in Costa Rica and throughout the world. In the face of this situation, some measures have been taken to reset the degree of growth and avoid sharp falls of duty-free sales.
Such actions include the possibility of allowing passengers to buy items containing liquids (alcohol and perfumes, among others) with the condition that such products are given to the passenger as he enters the airplane under strict security measures.
