Interesting Times
For its 25 million inhabitants times have rarely been as ‘interesting’ as they are now in Venezuela. The rule of President Hugo Chávez has brought a mix of wealth redistribution towards the poor and renewed affluence for the middle and upper classes thanks to soaring prices for oil, which represents 80% of exports and one-third of GDP.
Chávez’s combative foreign policy – personified by his chastising of President George Bush on the one hand and close friendship with Cuba’s President Fidel Castro on the other – has choked the flow of American visitors to the country’s Caribbean resorts. Not that the movement in tourism is all one-way: the Ministry of Tourism is offering loans via the Banco Industrial de Venezuela to enable 100,000 Venezuelans to holiday in Cuba.
Tourism from Latin America has indeed been less affected than two-way traffic to the preferred US
destinations of Miami and New York. Venezuelans have also had the disposable income to increase their travel to Europe and beyond.
Economic growth is reflected in improved spending patterns among Venezuelan customers for Motta
Internacionál, which operates the arrivals and departures Duty Free Caracas stores at the capital’s Simón Bolivár International Airport. “We have certainly felt the increase in liquidity,” confirms Carlos Motta, executive vice president of the Panamá-City based travel retail group.
Rising passenger numbers are encouraging the airport authority to expand its available retail area, and in light of the increased spending power of Venezuelan travellers, Motta Internacionál will orient the use of the additional space towards a luxury section with brands such as Cartier, Hermès, Bvlgari, Chopard, Ferragamo, Longchamp and Ermenegildo Zegna.
Due to open in April, the additional 550sqm of retail space in Motta Internacionál’s departure area will take the total retail space in departure/transit to more than 1600sqm. In addition to the luxury brands, Motta says that the new space will be home to an electronics store, a destination store and a premium whisky section, and will allow the company to expand other product lines that it already carries.
The smart, extended Duty Free Caracas stores at the airport are the latest iteration of a long association with the airport. Via its wholesale arm, Motta used to supply the Fundación del Niño, the children’s
charity that is the beneficial owner of the duty free concession at Simón Bolivár International Airport. In 1996 the Fundación outsourced store management in a bid won by Aldeasa; at the next bid in 2002, Motta Internacionál secured the contract.
Since then the business has enjoyed good times. “We experienced strong growth in sales and per
passenger spend in 2006, and are preparing for an even stronger 2007,” Motta tells Frontier.
“Passenger numbers have continued to grow and this includes more visitors, both business and vacation travellers,” he continues. Hence the destination merchandise section in the expanded departures store, which Motta says will have a strong emphasis on local rum, chocolate and coffee.
Despite not avoiding the pain of restrictions on liquor, fragrances and cosmetics, Motta Internacionál has maintained healthy levels of sales in all those categories. “We are working closely with the airlines and have trained our personnel in order to provide passengers with the proper information with regards to the restrictions in the US and EU,” Motta notes. More pressing for harried local travellers are problems with infrastructure. Structural weaknesses detected in a major bridge on the highway that links Caracas to the airport at Maiquetia led to the closure of the highway in January 2006, extending transit to the airport to up to seven torturous hours around tight mountain roads. Although a temporary alternative route is in place, delays and heavy traffic between city and airport persist. Construction of a new bridge is, thankfully, on schedule for inauguration in June.
Even here, enterprising retailers have been able to turn adversity into opportunity. With departing passengers needing to allow plenty of time to ensure arrival at the airport ahead of departure, dwell time in stores as well as food and beverage outlets has been boosted.
In that spirit, the sometimes tumultuous image that Venezuela portrays internationally – not to mention the reputation of Caracas as Latin America’s most dangerous major city – does not appear to be holding back tourist commerce to the nation. But this is a market in which local knowledge really counts, and the capacity to throw up more surprises cannot be overlooked (as the IDC consortium has discovered on the Isla de Margarita.
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