eight consecutive Business Traveller Middle East award for Dubai Duty Free

Dubai Duty Free, which achieved record sales of $1.1bn in 2008, came out tops in the readers' survey conducted by the magazine within the category 'Best Airport in the Middle East for Duty Free Shopping'.

The lavish awards ceremony, which was held at the Jumeirah Emirates Towers and organised by Motivate Publishing, brought together leading executives from the travel and tourism industry.

Top class entertainment was followed by guest speaker and founder of EasyJet, Sir Stelios Haji-Ioannou, who presented the 'Best Duty Free Shopping Award' to Colm McLoughlin, Managing Director of Dubai Duty Free.

Commenting on this latest award, Colm McLoughlin said, "I am delighted to receive this award for the eight consecutive year. These awards reflect the views of frequent travellers and I take it as a great endorsement of the retail operation, that we continue to win. My thanks to H.H. Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum, President of Dubai Civil Aviation Authority and Chairman of Dubai Airports, for his ongoing support. My thanks also to each and every member of our staff who deserve this recognition."

The Business Traveller Middle East award is the latest major award to be won by Dubai Duty Free this year. In January, the operation received the Global Traveller Award for 'Best Duty Free Shops' from the US-based magazine.

April, at the Middle East Events Awards 2009, Colm McLoughlin was presented with a 'Lifetime Achievement Award in the Middle East Events Industry', which recognized his outstanding contribution towards the successful staging of events in Dubai.

In March, Salah Tahlak, Director Corporate Communications of Dubai Duty Free was presented with the 'Young CEO of the Year' at the 6th Middle East CEO of the Year Awards 2009, for his leadership qualities and commitment to advancing Dubai Duty Free's strategic goals.