World's Craziest Airport Souvenirs

By Travel + Leisure and Travel + Leisure Staff October 31, 2013
Credit: Courtesy of Tiffany & Co.
Dubai’s over-the-top taste isn’t limited to its luxury malls and hotels: at the airport, you can now make a withdrawal from a gold-bar-dispensing ATM.

It’s a crazy, but perhaps fitting, souvenir of Dubai and part of an expanding range of airport options for last-minute shoppers. To find that perfect memento, first you’ll have to navigate the alternatives, from the budget breakers to the impulse buys that you may (or may not) regret once you’re home.

Sensible gifts include the local microbrews sold at Oregon’s Portland International, which T+L readers voted the No. 2 domestic airport for shopping in the World’s Best Awards survey.

But we turned up plenty of outlandish airport souvenirs too. Spellbinding Haitian voodoo dolls and used racehorse shoes—dirt and all—are a few of the other eye-opening products that make the trip home with some shoppers. See them all in our slideshow.
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Narita International Airport (NRT), Tokyo

Credit: istockphoto

Origami supplies (and creations) at the Nippon Origami Museum, in Tokyo’s Narita.

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Jorge Chavez International Airport (LIM), Lima, Peru

Credit: blickwinkel/Alamy

Finely woven alpaca sweaters from Kuna at the Lima, Peru, airport.

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Nashville International Airport (BNA)

Credit: Courtesy of the Standard Candy Co.

Caramel-filled Goo Goo Clusters, a regional classic, at Nashville International.

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Portland International Airport (PDX), OR

Credit: Courtesy of Made in Oregon

Local microbrews from Portland International, in Oregon.

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O. R. Tambo International Airport (JNB), Johannesburg, South Africa

Credit: istockphoto

Bamilese juju hats at South Africa’s Johannesburg International (they make fantastic wall hangings).

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Incheon International Airport (ICN), Seoul, South Korea

Credit: Courtesy of The Face Shop

Coveted Korean cosmetics (the Face Shop; Etude House) at Seoul’s Incheon.

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Louisville International Airport (SDF), KY

Credit: Jon Helgason/Alamy

Used race-horse shoes—dirt and all—at Louisville airport, in Kentucky.

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Toussaint Louverture International Airport (PAP), Port-au-Prince, Haiti

Credit: Oliver Leedham/Alamy

Spellbinding Haitian voodoo dolls at Port-au-Prince International.

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Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport (PHX)

Credit: Martin Williams/Alamy

Scorpion lollipops at Phoenix International.

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Singapore Changi Airport (SIN)

Credit: Victor Virgile/Gamma-Rho/Getty Images

Pretty little underthings at La Perla in Singapore’s Changi.

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Dubai International Airport (DXB)

Credit: Jungyeol & Mina/TongRo/Corbis

Gold-bar-dispensing ATM’s (for real!) at Dubai International.

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Incheon International Airport (ICN), Seoul, South Korea

Credit: Courtesy of Louis Vuitton

A monogrammed roll-aboard from the world’s first duty-free Louis Vuitton boutique, at Seoul’s Incheon airport.

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Hong Kong International Airport (HKG)

Credit: Courtesy of Tiffany & Co.

A classic Tiffany Setting engagement ring from Tiffany & Co. at Hong Kong International.

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By Travel + Leisure and Travel + Leisure Staff