arrival duty free

Can I buy Duty Free in.......?

Some of the most common questions from international travellers are "Can I buy Duty Free in?" and "What am I allowed to take?".

These questions are valid since buying and transporting duty free goods around the world is not so straight forward. For instance take in to account the following issues...

• Alcohol - there are many Muslim countries that do not allow alcohol importation (Saudi Arabia, Kuwait) - some allow under strict circumstances (Qatar allows from licensed premises only and for foreigners with a licence). There are other countries such as Turkey which allow alcohol.
• Tobacco - while there is no prohibition on tobacco in any country there are increasing restrictions on what can be imported and the also the increasing amount of taxation imposed on the domestic market. This increase in tax has fuelled grey market trade and smuggling.
• Electrical Goods - with small margins, ever changing model updates and very competitive domestic markets it is not so clear where the best prices lie.

Two areas which will move to the forefront in the future will be Duty Free Arrival Shops and also online retailing by duty free operators. This will reduce duty free goods being transported all around the world and duty free operators aligning their prices more towards savings against domestic market prices.