Malaysia Airports has launched a Request for Information (RFI) as part of a strategic review of its duty-free retail as it looks at how airport retail can better respond to changing passenger expectations and shopping behaviours.

Malaysia Airports has launched a Request for Information (RFI) as part of a strategic review of its duty-free concession model.

The review will assess potential approaches to delivering ‘a more distinctive and relevant retail experience’, with greater product differentiation and choice that better reflects current travel and shopping patterns, according to the company.

The RFI is in response to changing passenger expectations and shopping behaviours. As such, rather than beginning with a predetermined concession structure, Malaysia Airports has set the scene by defining the experience it wants to create, and identifying the model best suited to deliver it.

In order to do this, Malaysia Airports initiated an independent benchmarking exercise against regional and international airports, which has identified opportunities to strengthen the existing model and highlighted alternative approaches to further enhance the passenger retail experience.

Building on these findings, the operator’s Request for Information (RFI) is designed to gather market perspectives and better understand different commercial and operating models, industry capabilities and investment appetite as a way to move forward.

“Following the recently issued RFI for our airport advertising estate, this review extends our focus to another important part of the commercial environment,” said Malaysia Airports Managing Director Dato’ Mohd Izani Ghani.

“While each area has different requirements, both exercises reflect our wider effort to ensure that commercial offerings contribute meaningfully to the airport experience.

“This is why we are taking an evidence-led approach. We have benchmarked different models internationally, and the RFI allows us to test those findings against market insights and industry capabilities. That will give us a stronger basis to determine what is right for our passengers and our airports over the long term.”

Malaysia Airports Managing Director Dato’ Mohd Izani Ghani said the review forms part of the airport operator’s wider effort to ensure its commercial offerings contribute meaningfully to the overall passenger experience.

Malaysia Airports underlines that the RFI is a market-sounding exercise and not a procurement process. Similarly, it states that no decision has been made on the future concession model or whether Malaysia Airports will proceed with any subsequent procurement exercise.

Incumbent duty-free concessionaires have been engaged throughout the review process whereas individual engagements were followed by a joint dialogue session to explain the objectives and approach of the RFI, provide clarity on the process and give operators the opportunity to raise questions and share their perspectives, according to the operator.

The findings from the RFI will be assessed alongside the benchmarking results and other relevant considerations before management develops its recommendations to the board. Furthermore, any future recommendations will be guided by data and market insights, with the passenger experience remaining the primary consideration.

Malaysia Airports said it will continue to engage relevant stakeholders throughout the process and conduct the review in a fair, transparent and objective manner.

Interested parties are invited to submit their responses electronically in both PDF and Excel (Financial) format to the Strategy and Development Unit. See the details below…

Request for Information Submission Details

Submission deadline: 2 October 2026, 5.00 pm MYT

Submission method: Electronic submission in PDF and Excel (financial) format to the Strategy and Development Unit.

URL: https://corporate.malaysiaairports.com.my/en/business/business-opportunities/commercial-leasing-opportunities

Email: [email protected]

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