Melbourne Airport has unveiled its new dining and luxury retail precinct, following its $50 million refurbishment.
Housed within the International Terminal (T2), the 2,000sqm space has been turned into a luxury retail and dining precinct.
“Airports are either the first or last touch point of a traveller’s journey and, as Australia’s busiest 24/7 airport, we want to provide our visitors with an experience that captures the essence of this great city,” said Andrew Gardiner, chief of retail at Melbourne Airport.
“We’re expecting more than a million international passengers through Melbourne Airport in December alone, so this new precinct couldn’t have opened at a better time for those travellers.”
The retail precinct has welcomed 11 new retailers, including Tiffany & Co., Burberry, Salvatore Ferragamo, Max Mara, Watches of Switzerland, Bally, Emporio Armani, Michael Kors, Tumi, Hugo Boss and Furla.
“We’re thrilled to be bringing Burberry’s high quality offering to Melbourne Airport alongside such an established mix of retailers,” said John Mutton, general manager Australia of British luxury fashion house, Burberry.
“Melbourne is synonymous with fashion so it’s great to see travellers enjoy the new precinct.”
The terminal also has six bar and dining venues including Red Rock, Two Johns, coffee house Brunetti, as well as soon-to-open eatery, BaXa.
Providing international travellers with food and beverage options from some of Melbourne’s most iconic chefs, Airport Retail Enterprises (ARE) has revealed a revamped Café Vue by Shannon Bennett and Bar Pulpo by Movida by Frank Camorra. ARE’s Urban Provodore also joins T2, bringing its gourmet food and coffee to the airport for the first time.
A new children’s playground has also been unveiled as part of the new look retail and dining precinct.
The playspace consists of a rope climbing structure to help children develop their hand eye coordination. It also features a line of sculptural connected cubes made from PLAYTIME SoftPlay systems that are designed for children to create their own fun through non-prescriptive play.
“We wanted to create a fun experience for the whole family, for kids to get active and be creative in the playspace, while parents relax before their flight and enjoy food,” said CEO of Innovative Retail, Dale Smorgon.
“We are seeing a growing trend for airports and shopping centres alike looking for solutions to support families. Our recent research found that 90 per cent of shoppers agreed that having play facilities to entertain children at shopping centres enhanced the overall experience in the centre.”
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