Saudi Arabia's sovereign wealth fund PIF has announced the establishment of Al Waha Duty-Free Company (Al Waha), a travel retailer and the first Saudi-owned duty-free operator. 

 

Al Waha will develop luxury retail outlets in select locations across the country and feature a variety of merchandise including distinctive, high-quality Saudi products. 

 

The company will operate its airport outlets on a duty-free basis, and will explore additional travel retail opportunities at land border crossings and seaports, as well as channels such as inflight shopping, said the company in a statement.

 

Majed Al Assaf, the Head of Consumer Goods and Retail in Mena Investments at PIF, said: "By establishing Al Waha as a national travel retail champion, PIF intends to grow the Saudi travel retail industry and further support its ambitions for the tourism sector in Saudi Arabia."

 

"Al Waha will offer a distinctive traveler experience across Saudi travel retail touch points through diverse product offerings, a duty-free operation and a superior digital customer journey," he stated.

 

A wholly-owned PIF company, Al Waha will become a leader in travel retail and secure a greater share of passenger spending for the Saudi economy.

 

Al Assaf further highlighted that there is considerable potential for Saudi Arabia to gain a larger share of travel retail spending in the future, and the continued increase in visitors coming to the country - as well as global events being hosted locally - offer new opportunities to generate sustainable travel retail revenues.

 

The PIF is unlocking the capabilities of strategic sectors to diversify the Saudi economy, he added.-TradeArabia News Service