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Salman Gul > Insights

Marketing Agencies in the UAE: Dubai & Abu Dhabi (2026)

Posted on August 14, 2026August 14, 2026 by Salman Gul

The UAE is the marketing capital of the Middle East, and its agency scene reflects that: global holding-company networks, strong regional independents, hundreds of boutiques and thousands of freelancers, all concentrated in Dubai and Abu Dhabi. UAE digital ad spend...Read More

Bahrain Duty Free and the Role of Digital Marketing

Posted on August 14, 2026August 14, 2026 by Salman Gul

Bahrain is the Gulf's boutique hub, and its duty free just went upmarket. Bahrain International Airport (BIA) handled around 9.4 million passengers in 2024, comfortably below the 14-million capacity of its light-filled US$1.1 billion terminal that opened in 2021. Home...Read More

Jeddah Duty Free and the Role of Digital Marketing

Posted on August 14, 2026August 14, 2026 by Salman Gul

Jeddah is unlike any other duty-free market in the Gulf, because its airport is the gateway to the Two Holy Mosques. King Abdulaziz International Airport (KAIA/JED) is Saudi Arabia's busiest, hitting a record 53.4 million passengers in 2025, and it...Read More

Riyadh Duty Free and the Role of Digital Marketing

Posted on August 14, 2026August 14, 2026 by Salman Gul

Riyadh is the growth capital of Gulf travel retail. King Khalid International Airport (KKIA/RUH) handled 37.6 million passengers in 2024, is growing at double digits under Vision 2030, and will one day be absorbed into King Salman International Airport, a...Read More

Qatar Duty Free and the Role of Digital Marketing

Posted on August 14, 2026August 14, 2026 by Salman Gul

Qatar Duty Free is travel retail's experiential luxury leader. A 100% subsidiary of Qatar Airways, it runs more than 200 retail and dining outlets across 32,889 square metres at Hamad International Airport, named SKYTRAX World's Best Airport Shopping three years...Read More

Sharjah Duty Free and the Role of Digital Marketing

Posted on August 14, 2026August 14, 2026 by Salman Gul

Sharjah is the Gulf's value gateway, home to Air Arabia, the region's largest low-cost carrier, and one of its fastest-growing airports: Sharjah International (SHJ) handled 19.48 million passengers in 2025, up 13.9% and more than triple its pandemic low. That...Read More

Abu Dhabi Duty Free and the Role of Digital Marketing

Posted on August 14, 2026August 14, 2026 by Salman Gul

Abu Dhabi Duty Free is the newest flagship in Gulf travel retail, reborn inside Zayed International Airport's vast Terminal A, which opened in November 2023 and helped the airport handle a record 32.5 million passengers in 2025. Beauty-led and prestige-heavy,...Read More

Dubai Duty Free and the Role of Digital Marketing

Posted on August 14, 2026August 14, 2026 by Salman Gul

Dubai Duty Free is the benchmark for travel retail worldwide, and its record 2025, sales of AED 8.680 billion (US$2.378 billion), up 9.85% and the best in its 42-year history, was built as much on digital marketing as on prime...Read More

Unified Commerce & Retail Technology in the GCC

Posted on August 14, 2026August 14, 2026 by Salman Gul

In 2026 the strongest retailers are not the ones with the most channels, but the ones that connect those channels into a single operating core, and that is what unified commerce means. Where omnichannel connects customer-facing touchpoints through integrations, unified...Read More

Retail supply chain inventory availability gcc

Retail Supply Chain, Inventory & Availability in the GCC

Posted on August 14, 2026August 14, 2026 by Salman Gul

On-shelf availability has quietly become one of retail's most decisive competitive levers, and in 2026 it is a core strategic asset, no longer a back-office task. The logic is brutal: even small shortages cause lost immediate sales, lower conversion and...Read More