Roughly two years ago, the operator of Bangkok’s Suvarnabhumi Airport, AOT, decided to wind down their arrival duty-free shops operated by King Power over a squabble with the government but now it could return.
Back then, the cabinet said duty-free shops in the arrivals areas of international airports should be closed to encourage more spending by visitors in domestic stores, which never really made sense.
The measure, which was discussed under the last government in July of 2024, ended in the closure of inbound duty-free shops located in the arrivals concourse and the baggage claim area.
It’s not unusual for airports to have a duty-free sales area for passengers arriving from an overseas flight either before going through immigration or even while waiting for baggage.
In Thailand, this has been a very prominent occurrence, as the major company King Power, which operates said duty-free shops, has a huge presence in all these areas, and from the looks of it, it appears to be quite popular too, as there are always plenty of people shopping. But then the government shut it down in order to stimulate domestic spending.
After two years without the Arrivals Duty Free it could now make a comeback as AOT is conducting a feasibility study on how much it would earn them to return the shops, according to The Nation.
Airports of Thailand Public Company Limited (AOT) is studying whether to bring back duty-free shops for arriving passengers while expanding premium services and commercial development across its airports after nine-month net profit rose 3.86%.
AOT recorded net profit of 14.812 billion baht for the first nine months of fiscal 2026, up 549.96 million baht from the same period a year earlier, despite a 1.39% decline in total revenue to 50.205 billion baht.
AOT President Paweena Jariyathitipong said the company was pursuing measures to improve passenger services while increasing revenue across the six airports under its management: Suvarnabhumi, Don Mueang, Chiang Mai, Mae Fah Luang Chiang Rai, Phuket and Hat Yai.
Paweena said AOT was considering the introduction of premium services, including dedicated fast-track channels similar to those offered at major international airports.
The services would give passengers additional options, speed up their journeys through terminals and help manage congestion.
AOT is also conducting a feasibility study on restoring duty-free shops for arriving passengers, with the aim of offering travellers entering Thailand greater choice and convenience. …
Removing the Arrivals Duty Free never made sense and was more likely the result of a feud between some influential figures in the Thai government and AOT as well as King Power.
That removing the arrivals duty-free would directly improve domestic consumption was a total bunch of nonsense (not that I’m surprised).
Purchases made at this inbound duty-free option are usually for items that are heavily taxed when bought in-country, mostly wine, champagne, spirits, and, to some degree, perfume, which is also expensive in Thailand. Thailand has dropped the high tax on wine and champagne since then, though.
Passengers usually like this option because they don’t have to carry their purchases until the very last moment. The price for champagne, fine wine, and spirits is actually quite competitive at King Power inbound duty-free compared with the same outlets overseas.
Conclusion
Back in July of 2024, the Thai government decided to introduce measures that would essentially end inbound duty-free sales at Thai airports. Most of these shops are run by King Power. The government saw a 3 billion baht sales volume and thought it wanted to easily siphon off that amount and transfer it to local sales. This never worked out!
I’m quite baffled that there wasn’t any immediate pushback from the King Power consortium, including their powerful CEO, Aiyawatt Srivaddhanaprabha. Now AOT is conducting a study to see
AOT might now be planning on returning these duty-free purchases; you might want to keep an eye on this development further and consider buying goods before your last flight segment to Thailand rather than being surprised that the inbound option has reappeared and you could have bought it there. I never saw fantastic prices at King Power, though, except once for a bottle of Mouton Rothschild.
