[Editorial] Duty-free on arrival

Incheon International Airport, the main gateway to Seoul, was selected this week as the best airport in the world for the eighth consecutive year. At this year’s Airport Service Quality Awards in Istanbul, Turkey, it scored the highest among some 1,700 airports around the world.

Beaming with the unprecedented honor, a top official from the airport operator said that it would continue efforts to set the service standards, putting top priority on convenience for customers.

A debate has recently been heating up over an idea that Incheon airport hopes to help further enhance its service and profitability: duty-free shopping on arrival. There have been many pros and cons on whether to permit arrival duty-free shopping since the airport opened in 2001. A ruling party lawmaker submitted a bill to the National Assembly last November to allow the airport to set up duty-free stores in its arrival area after five similar legislative bids were aborted in the past decade.

The split of views was mirrored in answers by the two highest-ranking administration officials to the lawmaker’s question on the matter during a parliamentary session this week. Prime Minister Chung Hong-won responded positively to the idea, promising to instruct related ministries to hold consultations on it. But Hyun Oh-seok, deputy prime minister for economic affairs, expressed a negative view, citing the possibility of widening inequality in taxation.

Supporters for duty-free shopping on arrival argue the measure would induce Korean outbound travelers to spend more money at home, relieving them of the discomfort of carrying on items purchased from departure lounge shops throughout their trips. They also say the move would make it more convenient for foreign visitors to do duty-free shopping in the country.

It is true that permitting arrival shops will give some conveniences to a growing number of outbound and inbound travelers through the airport. The annual number of passengers using Incheon airport nearly doubled from 20 million in 2003 to 39 million last year.

But there seem to be serious reasons for having to be more cautious about giving a green light to arrival duty-free shopping. It would be unfair to give overseas travelers more opportunities to buy duty-free items to be consumed at home, while people who cannot afford to make trips abroad should pay customs and value-added taxes to purchase them. It is also unlikely that a large number of foreign visitors will use arrival stores as there are many other places for duty-free shopping during their stay here.

The introduction of arrival shops might also cause more inconveniences to passengers as it would make the baggage claims and customs areas more crowded. It could also lead to more problems with security.

Proponents note that currently 115 airports in 62 countries have introduced arrival duty-free shopping. But it should also be pointed out that many major advanced nations have not done so.

Additional revenues may be attractive, but Incheon airport is advised to focus on improving other convenient facilities to keep its title of the best airport in the world.