Bidding for duty-free shops at Incheon airport starts

A bidding process started on Thursday for the operation of duty-free shops at Incheon International Airport. Rental fees will be charged based on the number of passengers at the airport.

Incheon International Airport Corporation (IIAC) on Thursday issued a post on bidding for the selection of operators of duty-free shops at Terminal 1, Terminal 2, and the Boarding Building. Bids will be made for five normal business licenses (63 stores, 20,842 m²) and two SME licenses (14 stores, 3,280m²).

Bids are to be submitted by Feb. 22 next year for the IIAC to select bid winners scheduled to operate starting next July.

The five normal business licenses in question involve two for perfumes, cosmetics, liquor, and tobacco; another two for fashion items, accessories, and boutiques; and one for boutiques. The two SME licenses are not limited to types of items. The default contract period lasts 10 years.

Incheon International Airport is planning to bring high-end boutiques in its first-ever two-storied duty-free shop area at the departure lounges on the east and west sides of Terminal 2. The corporation has reduced an area of 3,300 m² left inefficiently used at Boarding Building and Terminal 1, which businesses find less attractive, and instead increased the area of shops at Terminal 2 from 10,208 m² to 13,484 m².

Rental fees will be calculated not with a fixed amount but based on the number of passengers multiplied by a per-passenger unit price proposed by businesses. The IIAC stated that this new way of calculating rental fees could help better respond to drops in the number of travelers due to the COVID-19 pandemic, for example.


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