Duty Free Philippines wins Frontier award
Duty Free Philippines ( DFP), an attached agency of the Department of Tourism ( DOT) bagged the Duty Free Frontier Award at the Annual Duty and Tax Free Global Summit held in Cannes, France last month.
The Frontier Awards which has just celebrated its 30th anniversary last October 28 is widely recognized as “The Oscars” of the Global Duty Free industry.
DFP was given a Frontier trophy for “Outstanding Contribution to the Industry,” the most prestigious among the awards given to “honor those outstanding travel retail professionals or groups whose achievements transcend individual businesses to bring enduring benefits to the industry as a whole.”
This is the first time that the award was given to a corporation.
This is also DFP’s third Frontier award in its 27- year history. The first accolade - “Best Airport Retailer of the Year” for the NAIA Terminal I Departure Store was won in 1989, while the second honor - “Marketing Campaign of the Year” for the Travelite Program was won in 1991.
Frontier’s distinguished panel of judges is composed of six top executives from the industry with a wealth of experience in the various product categories and geographical regions.
Corporate gems In the past 27 years, DFP has been cited for its innovation in the travel retail industry for programs like the Pasalubong Shopping with the Family, which has strengthened the profile of arrival shopping ; the Travelite Program, which gave travelers the convenience of paying for purchases before they depart for abroad and pick these upon arrival ; and the well- loved Pasalubong Packs, a value for money bundled packages of chocolates and liquor.
DFP has also been recognized for its programs for returning overseas Filipinos and Balikbayans ( returning Filipino residents) like the DFP OFW (Overseas Filipino Workers) Business Center, the Balikbayan Plus Card and the Kabuhayan (Livelihood) Shopping Program.
These trailblazing concepts, strategies and projects were highlighted by DFPC’s latest contribution to the industry - DFP Coordinated Action in Response to Emergency Situations (CARES) which was launched to help the victims of Typhoon Yolanda (Haiyan) and galvanized the global duty free industry to help the Philippines in its time of need.
In 2013, DFP’s Fiestamall was highly commended for the Downtown Retailer of the Year category. This year, DFP was a finalist in two categories : “Celebrate and Donate” – a collaboration with Diageo wherein U$1 will be donated to survivors of typhoon Yolanda for every unit of Johnnie Walker product sold - was a finalist under the “Partnership Initiative of the Year” category.
The “Media Noche Pack”, was a finalist in the “Specialty Concept of the Year”, an instore project of DFP’s flagship store DFP Fiestamall where customers bought and donated baskets of food and drinks to Typhoon Yolanda survivors for their traditional New Year’s Eve family get-together.