ARI Middle East at 35: A conversation with Nuno Amaral on his return to ARIME as CEO and the next chapter

Nuno Amaral has returned to Bahrain to lead ARI Middle East (ARIME) as the company celebrates its 35th anniversary, a milestone in the region’s travel retail landscape. With decades of experience overseeing ARI’s global operations, Amaral is focused on driving passenger-centric strategies, operational excellence and technology-led innovation across ARIME’s portfolio. Speaking with GTR Magazine, he shares insights on catering to diverse passenger demographics, expanding the business footprint, and delivering on ESG commitments.

GTR Magazine: First of all, congratulations on your new role! What excites you most about returning to lead ARI in the Middle East?

Amaral: I’m delighted to be back in Bahrain as CEO of ARI Middle East! I maintain my responsibilities as Global Chief Operations Officer with ARI, so I am still very involved in operations across the global portfolio, but the Middle East has always been a special and exciting region for me.  

I’m happy to say that business is thriving. TRSS Abu Dhabi Duty Free is the most recent addition to our portfolio and has continued to raise the bar when it comes to the global travel retail experience since opening its doors in 2023. Also, 2025 marks the 35th anniversary of ARIME. We remain the largest multi-site operator in the region – it’s a big milestone for us and something we are incredibly proud of.  

GTR Magazine: What are some lessons learned from your earlier tenure that you believe will be most valuable today, especially considering the changes the travel retail industry has undergone?

Amaral: We must always put the passenger at the heart of what we do. The Middle East, just like every other region, has a diverse passenger demographic. It’s essential that we have an in-depth understanding of passengers across each of our locations and adapt our offering accordingly.  

We adopt a bespoke approach across our locations, from product assortment to unique store identities and sense of place experience. Passengers expect that more than ever – the cookie cutter approach is not an option.  

It has been fantastic to see Abu Dhabi delivering on the promises of the original tender. We were awarded the business during my first tenure in the Middle East so it’s great to be back and to see this vision realized.

GTR Magazine: What's the biggest challenge you see for travel retail in the Middle East right now?

Amaral: It has been a turbulent time across the region with ongoing geopolitical conflicts. Despite that, travel has remained steady. We have operated in the region for the past 35 years, so we are confident in its resilience.  

There have been great improvements in the retail offer from Indian subcontinent duty free operators. Passengers from these regions are an important demographic in the Middle East, so we must continue to raise the bar with our offering and keep this passenger base engaged.  

GTR Magazine: What are your immediate strategic priorities for ARIME, and how will these align with ARI’s global vision?

Amaral: Our business objective has always been to retain and maximize current operations and grow with the right opportunities. We have excellent partnerships in the region and have negotiated a number of contract extensions in the past year. We’re keen to expand our footprint and maintain the leading position that we have established over these past 35 years.

We are also working closely with our business units to deliver on the 2030 commitments set out in our recently relaunched ESG strategy, Journey with Purpose. Each business is at a different stage in their ESG journey, but we have set some ambitious targets and we’re excited to work together towards achieving them.

GTR Magazine: What are your main objectives for driving operational excellence? Are there specific countries where you see the greatest opportunity for improvement?  

Amaral: We’re committed to delivering joy to passengers across each of our locations, and our Customer Value Proposition gives us the strategic framework to do this. It outlines the non-negotiables of our retail operations, from best-in-class customer service to sense of place to improving convenience. These are the building blocks to delivering an exceptional retail experience.  

Our Future Customer Initiative identified a number of key opportunity spaces for our business, meaning we can pinpoint the best areas of growth for each of our locations and best cater to key passenger demographics. We always focus on retail standards and operational excellence. As part of this, we will be strengthening the team in the ARIME Bahrain office. They will work closely with each of our business units to continue to elevate the passenger experience.  

GTR Magazine: What role do you see technology playing in enhancing the customer experience and driving growth?

Amaral: We see opportunities to expand our online retail capabilities through our ecommerce platforms and drive convenient solutions for passengers, such as click and collect or home delivery services. Social media plays an important role in ensuring relevance and communicating with the passenger pre-travel. Our teams do a great job engaging passengers across key platforms like Instagram and TikTok.  

ARI is working on a new AI Center of Excellence, which will embed AI capabilities across our business. I’m excited for this journey to see how we can optimize our day-to-day functions, drive efficiencies and increase our agility as a business.

GTR Magazine: How will ARIME adapt its strategies to cater to the unique consumer preferences and market dynamics within different countries in the Middle East region?

Amaral: This is part and parcel of what we have always done. Each of our locations has a unique identity and bespoke offering tailored to its specific passenger demographic. We have been able to get even more granular with our segmentation and strategy following our Future Customer Initiative project. This involved a recalibration of our Customer Segmentation Model, which is now more intuitive and can be better utilized across all areas of the business to really tailor our offering.  

GTR Magazine: What initiatives do you plan to implement to foster a strong team at ARIME?

Amaral: I’m excited to strengthen an already brilliant team and build an even more capable support function here at ARIME’s base in Bahrain to drive continued growth.People are the heart of our business and we will continue to foster a culture of inclusivity, diversity and excellence. Our brand behaviors and our people values are embedded in everything we do and our teams live these every day. It’s important that our teams feel valued, empowered, and love what they do. That’s the only way that we can deliver joy to the passenger.

GTR Magazine: Looking ahead, what are the biggest opportunities and challenges you foresee in the next 3-5 years?

Amaral: The market is increasingly competitive, with ongoing business consolidation and new players entering the market. It challenges us all to raise the bar in what we do and continuously elevate our offering.  

Value and perception is important in travel retail – not simply price alone, but the overall experience. With fluctuations in macro-economic uncertainty, this will greatly impact whether a passenger decides to make a purchase in travel retail.

We continue to engage our brand partners to leverage the travel retail channel, supporting first-to-market launches and airport exclusives. Leaning on this partnership not only provides a captive audience to brands, but also keeps the offering new and exciting for passengers, creating compelling reasons to shop on their journey.

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