Frankfurt International Airport looks at its Chinese passengers –a million per year on average- by providing them with a personal shopper providing advice and help in mandarin.
FRANKFURT – Frankfurt Airport recently began offering a special service: so-called Chinese Personal Shoppers who look after visitors from the Middle Kingdom. They advise Chinese passengers on shopping and help them to obtain refunds on value-added tax they have paid. On request, these airport employees also escort Chinese passengers through the security check and all the way to the gate.
Chinese Personal Shoppers speak fluent Mandarin and are familiar with the culture and preferences of Chinese passengers. A pilot phase lasting several weeks showed that the advisers very quickly won the confidence of Chinese passengers and were able to help them communicate. Their assistance was gratefully accepted, and after arriving back home, many passengers praised the personal service in Frankfurt to their acquaintances and business associates. As a result, many visitors arriving from that country now specifically ask for a Chinese Personal Shopper.
No advance registration is required. Chinese passengers who would like to try shopping at the airport with a Personal Shopper can simply call a specific number. The shopping service is free of charge.
About a million passengers from China now pass through Frankfurt Airport each year, making them an increasingly important market.
The Chinese Personal Shoppers are part of the “Great to have you here!” service program with which the airport is introducing a wide range of improvements to make it even easier and more convenient for passengers to depart from and transfer at Germany’s largest aviation hub. In 2011, Frankfurt Airport welcomed more than 56 million passengers.
Luc Citrinot a French national is a freelance journalist and consultant in tourism and air transport with over 20 years experience. Based in Paris and Bangkok, he works for various travel and air transport trade publications in Europe and Asia.
