FINLAND. Three million cups of coffee, 200,000 kg of chocolate, and 20,000 Moomin mugs were purchased at Helsinki Airport in 2016.
Airport operator Finavia said Chinese travellers (up +7.5% in 2016) were the biggest spenders.
The most popular product groups among Chinese passengers last year were cosmetics, jewellery, watches and fashion, with European luxury brands the biggest sellers.
Finnish products are also popular souvenirs, while the country’s health products such as berry powders and fish oils also sell well “as the Chinese appreciate the clean air and nature of Finland”, according to Finavia Commercial Director at Helsinki Airport Elena Stenholm.
“Cups of coffee and sandwiches bought by passengers at Helsinki Airport finance development projects of Finnish airports and secure high-quality services that support flight connections around the country”
“The flow of Chinese passengers to Finland has increased, which is clearly shown by airport shopping statistics,” she said. “Shopping, making tax free purchases in particular, is an important way for Chinese passengers to spend time at the airport.”
Finavia said its profits (accumulated from airline charges and services sold to travellers) exclusively financed the Finnish airport infrastructure .
“In practice, cups of coffee and sandwiches bought by passengers at Helsinki Airport finance development projects of Finnish airports and secure high-quality airport services that support flight connections around the country,” said Stenholm.
What did people buy at Helsinki Airport in 2016?
- 3,000,000 cups of coffee, equalling more than 8,000 cups a day
- 1,000,000 water bottles
- 200,000 kg of chocolate, equalling 550 kg per day
- 120,000 books
- 45,000 bags of rye bread
- 20,000 Moomin mugs
