Al Waha CEO Jack MacGowan on stage at the MEADFA Conference 2025.

Al Waha Duty Free Company CEO Jack MacGowan made a powerful address at the recent MEADFA Conference in Dubai (9-11 November), giving delegates the inside story on the new retailer on the scene and how duty-free and travel retail (DF&TR) stakeholders can seek to capitalise on the great potential of doing business in the kingdom.

In a session titled ‘Destination Saudi: Growth & opportunity’, he outlined how, on a global scale, SPP is declining, Chinese spend is dramatically down and Gen Z is notably different to the generations that came before them, with the perception of value no longer clear cut as perhaps it once was.

MacGowan noted that, with rising prices in mind, declining sales in travel retail – in volume terms – is a significant issue to grapple with.

“It’s not as easy [to solve] as it used to be as consumers are not in travel retail just for price and promotions – it’s a lot more complex than that,” he said, explaining how embracing shifting dynamics rather than turning to tried-and-tested strategies replied upon in the past, will drive the way forward.

“The growth is going to come from the young consumer, young passengers – no different to the last decade or the last 100 years – we are all recruiting new consumers as they come and start earning money,” he said.

The Middle East stands out for its positive attitudes to travel retail.

On the industry talking about and analysing Gen Z he added: “My question is, why is this so hard compared to recruiting millennials 10 years ago? Or baby boomers 50 years ago. And I think it’s for two reasons: it’s hard for us to change. We’re a consolidated industry, we’re bigger companies – and bigger companies find it just a little bit harder to change. There’s a lot more at risk. The rents and the MAGs are much higher. If you are paying no MAG, it’s easy to try something new. Why not? Yo’‘ve nothing to lose. But if you have a big MAG and you’ve got shareholders who are depending on large rents coming in… it’s harder to make change.

“So I feel Gen Z at the moment is no harder to recruit than the millennials 10 years ago, or the boomers 50 years ago. It’s us that’s finding it harder to change because there’s more at stake.”

He went on to highlight the fast-growing region Middle East and the positive attitudes around duty-free in creating a compelling investment opportunity.

Underlining the opportunity in Saudi Arabia specifically, he referenced how the kingdom is set to welcome 330 million passengers (pax) in 2030, aided by the lure of Expo 2030 Riyadh and other mega events in the calendar, as well as key tourist projects such as Al Ula.

MacGowan gave 2025 MEADFA Conference delegates a masterclass in the Saudi luxury consumer,

“In North Riyadh alone, around the airport, they are going to have to build 40 new hotels to satisfy demand in the next four years – it’s an enormous opportunity,” he said.

Indeed, planned infrastructure expansion projects means that King Salman International Airport is expected to handle more than 100 million pax from 2034 and the Jeddah Airport (King Abdulaziz International Airport) expansion will allow for the same.

Looking at the Saudi luxury consumer, he highlighted their significant spending power and affinity for supporting Saudi-first enterprises and celebrating local craft and design, their appetite for localised collections, special seasonal offerings, and preference for using digital methods for purchasing luxury goods.

With the average age of the Saudi Arabian traveller being 37, versus 43 globally, the lifetime value of recruiting them is huge.

“Riyadh Airport has 2.4 times more Gen Z passengers than the global average,” he said. “These young, relatively affluent passengers at Riyadh Airport love brands.”

Research by Al Waha shows that 25% identify as ‘emotional brand image seekers’, meaning they are fond of international brands, exclusivity and limited editions, are high spenders and appreciate attractive shops and lots of choice.

The average age of the Saudi Arabian traveller is 37, versus 43 globally.

“The experience in store is probably as important if not more important than promotions and price,” he added, referencing the Al Waha research once again.

The study shows that buyers in Riyadh who interacted with sales staff are 11% more likely to buy products and spend 31% more on average than pax who did not interact with sales staff.

Digging deeper into drivers to purchase in GTR, experience in store (45%), value/promotions (43%), suitability for a specific purpose (34%) and exclusivity/differentiation (30%) lead the way.

With all of this in mind, MacGowan explained how Al Waha was set up (it launched in June 2024) to “transform the first and last impression for the tourist [and] to a create a customer experience at the airports that is much, much different to today.”

Research by Al Waha shows that 25% of Riyadh passengers are ‘emotional brand image seekers’.

As KSA moves forward with unlocking the potential of the tourism sector in line with Vision 2030, elevating the travel retail landscape by tackling the staff and service aspects – as other projects in the kingdom are doing domestically – will be key.

“We want the consumer that walks into our shops to say: ‘It’s easy to shop in this shop, I can see where everything is and find it. The staff are really good, they’re helpful, they help me find it, and they care. The smile and engage and even better, they know their stuff. They know what’s on promotion and what I should buy my girlfriend or wife… And finally, the prices are good.’

“We want to take price away from the customer so they can make a decision based on non-price – we don’t want to me the cheapest but we do not want to be more expensive than the competitive set,” he said, underlining how this is something that’s not an easy to get right and that help from brands is needed in ensuring relevancy.

Al Waha is eyeing expansion opportunities beyond airports over the coming years.

Staff training is, of course paramount, with the goal of creating an elite, female Saudi salesforce.

Making sure there’s no need to queue is also important in keeping Saudi customers happy, due to them being time poor, as is the flexibility of the offer and mastering what value means to key nationalities passing through the airports.

When it comes to driving footfall, he explained: “We think of the store as a fast-flowing river, so this river of people get into it, get through the check-out and straight to the gate – what we have a problem with is finding a way [for them] to discover that, so they at least stop and browse in our store.”

Deploying big, promotional events showcasing elements of Riyadh life, is one part of the solution to this, believes Al Waha.

Beyond opportunities at the 27 airports across KSA, MacGowan also nodded to opportunities at resorts, border crossings, rail stations and cruise, as well as downtown retail.

Looking to the years ahead, he confirmed: “The definition of Al Waha’s scope is all tourist touchpoints.”

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