What To Expect From Next Week’s European Travel Retail Confederation Business Forum: Secretary General Julie Lassaigne and President Nigel Keal Interviewed.
7 minutes read
Introduction by: Peter Marshall
This interview is an important introduction to what will unfold at next week’s Business Forum in Amsterdam. I caught up recently with Julie and Nigel to understand more about the content for the Forum as well as cover off industry issues that affect us all.
The key theme of the Forum is: Protect, Persuade, Prosper. Given the independent platform that ETRC represents, we can expect thought leadership and substance, not puff, from the key speakers and panellists involved.
There are some constants this year, so ETRC’s Business Performance Index will be showcased and the 2025 Q3 review will be presented. What is new is a wider focus to include cruise lines, ferries and the inflight sectors. Another highlight will be the session entitled: “Re-Enchanting Travel Retail”. Just how doable is that?
I think there are many reading this who do not fully appreciate all the hard work that ETRC undertakes to support the industry. This interview explores that work – whether on the MAG model, on the increasingly difficult regulatory environments linked to product categories, and to advocacy in general. Expect good things to come out of next week’s Forum
Peter Marshall (PM): Welcome back to TRunblocked.com,Julie and Nigel. The ETRC 2026 Business Forum is next week. Julie, if I can start with you. What can everyone expect and will the core industry challenges be discussed in a substantial and meaningful way?
Julie Lassaigne (JL): The ETRC Business Forum is designed as a genuinely independent platform for dialogue, reflection and challenge. As a member-only event — and one of the very few remaining free from marketing or commercial agendas — it creates the space for open, substantive discussion between retailers, brands and landlords, both large and small.
Against a backdrop of geopolitical uncertainty and economic pressure, the Forum will focus on how European Duty Free and Travel Retail is evolving, and how to do so successfully.
The underlying message of this year’s theme — Protect, Persuade, Prosper — is clear. Businesses that anticipate volatility and invest in experience, data and flexibility will be far better positioned to succeed, even in an increasingly unstable global environment.
PM: The global geopolitical situation has never been less healthy. Nigel, given the destabilising influences of an increasingly fragmented and fractious world, what can businesses operating in European Travel Retail expect?
Nigel Keal (NK): Geopolitical instability is no longer a background risk; it is a defining operating condition.
Broader tensions such as trade disputes and political fragmentation have real economic spillovers. They cause a real threat to travel, particularly long-haul leisure travel, which is a key segment for travel retail. For example, it is evident the war in Ukraine has already disrupted airspace and flight routes, directly affecting passenger flows and retail footfall, and global supply chains.
We witness real caution amongst economic operators, but it shouldn’t prevent them from making the necessary investment to keep our industry attractive and profitable in the long term. The implication is clear: Travel Retail businesses must plan for volatility and adapt their strategy to succeed.
PM: It’s difficult to put politics aside, but just looking at ETRC’s Business Performance Index in isolation, what does it reveal about the resilience and recovery of travel retail across European airports?
JL: The ETRC Business Performance Index — compiled by Pi Insight with sell-out data from participating Retailers and air traffic data from ForwardKeys and covering around 225 European airports — continues to underline the sector’s resilience.
The YTD Q3 2025 review, which will be presented at the Forum, shows sales exceeding 2024 levels, with value growth remaining strong. Importantly, volume sales, which lagged significantly after 2020, are now recovering and gradually realigning with passenger traffic and value growth. Almost all product categories have delivered positive year-on-year performance.
European airport duty free sales reached a record €9.5 billion in 2024, and 2025 is expected to surpass that figure. The data clearly demonstrates that the sector remains robust, relevant and worthy of continued investment.
PM: Next week’s Forum is creating a wider focus – not just airports, still the dominant player, but on the other important travel retail channels, too, including cruise lines, ferries and inflight. What do you think are the developing opportunities for these channels for operators and brands?
JL: Airport retailing is undoubtedly the lion’s share of European Duty Free and Travel Retail, but non-airport travel retail is increasingly important — both strategically and commercially. Cruise and ferry retail, in particular, are growing segments and offer valuable diversification away from aviation dependency.
ETRC represents all travel retail channels, and a major step forward was the launch of the Nordic & Baltic Ferry Index last year. Developed in close cooperation with key ferry operators in the region, it provides, for the first time, a comprehensive, data-driven view of this sector.
It reinforces both the scale and the vitality of non-airport travel retail and underlines the importance of recognising and supporting the industry’s full channel diversity.
PM: To a broader question now, or series of questions. Do you think that travel retail has lost its magic? Has this sector forgotten that price is still an important factor? Is it now about value versus experience, or a combination of both? The conversion rates are at an all-time low, yet there still appears to be a remarkable complacency loitering with intent. Does “re-enchanting travel retail” – a great mission – have any actual meaning in practice? And what can the industry do to elevate the overall customer experience while seeking to drive sustainable revenue growth?
NK: These are exactly the questions we wanted to provoke by headlining one of the Forum’s main sessions ‘Re-enchanting Travel Retail’. The phrase risks sounding grand, but the underlying challenge is very real.
I asked ChatGPT these questions; and the answer was nothing but direct and concise: “Travel retail hasn’t lost its magic because the world changed. It’s lost magic because it stopped obsessing over the traveller and started obsessing over itself. “Re-enchanting travel retail” can be meaningful — but only if it starts with a simple promise: “We will make this worth your time, your trust, and your money.””
We would strongly argue with the premise that the world hasn’t changed!! The world has undoubtedly changed — and it would be unreasonable to pretend otherwise.
However, we do need to refocus on fundamentals. Travel retail works best when the traveller is at the centre of every decision. Price still matters. Value and experience are not alternatives; they are interdependent. Without price credibility, experience struggles to convert. Without experience, price alone becomes unsustainable. Conversion rates tell us that we are not always getting this balance right.
So, have we become consigned on talking about how to split the cake instead of growing the cake?
The good news is that awareness is growing, and this is a challenge we can address and win collectively. Many stakeholders are already acting — rethinking propositions, store design, service and communication — to turn travellers back into shoppers.
PM: For many the crunch issue with airport retail remains the MAG model. ETRC published a document last year looking at potential new business models, but came up short with any new solutions. Because, beyond what is already on the table – whether airport owned, concession operated, or JV’s – there really aren’t any. Simply put, there is no one-size-fits-all that will work for all stakeholders. So, the question is: what work has ETRC done since the publication that has tried to advance the industry’s discussion on the business model?
NK: Firstly, we felt commended when some of our members and their key business partners asked us to try and lead the industry’s discussion on business models, whilst at the same time recognising that there was no silver-bullet solution.
ETRC has deliberately steered to position itself as a neutral facilitator in this discussion. Last year, we brought together the CEOs of Europe’s four largest travel retailers for the first joint executive roundtable — an unprecedented step — where business models were largely discussed.
In parallel, we commissioned the Institute for Retail Studies at the University of Stirling to examine and test prevailing business models. The conclusion was clear: there is no single solution, no “unicorn model”. But there are identifiable principles and conditions under which different models succeed or fail.
Building on this, ETRC presented the findings to the ACI EUROPE’s Commercial Forum, where there was strong support to build on these findings and take the next step: modernise the ACI EUROPE Tender Code. The updated Code, expected in the first half of 2026, aims to deliver a more adaptable, partnership-oriented and customer-centric framework that reflects today’s realities. This will be thoroughly discussed at the Forum next week.
PM: As you mentioned earlier, the title of this year’s Business Forum is Protect, Persuade, Prosper. Now, as regulatory pressure increases – more than I can mention here – is the travel industry fit enough to combat the challenges presented? Certainly the win on tobacco is highly significant and has industry-wide ramifications, all good. But there are other battles, aren’t there?
JL: The decision taken last November by the World Health Organization’s (WHO) Fourth session of the Meeting of the Parties to Eliminate Illicit Trade in Tobacco Products (MOP4) that the evidence-based research called for under the Protocol did not identify duty free as a significant channel for illicit trade in tobacco products is highly significant.
This is the result of almost 20 years of our industry defending its credentials and protecting its position. This is the result of countless meetings, reports, economic impact studies etc to defend not only one product category but the reputation of our industry as a whole.
The regulatory environment has become tougher. All product categories face increasing scrutiny, while governments — particularly in Europe — are under pressure to raise revenue and are looking closely at travel retail. Fragmented national regulations, sustainability mandates and compliance costs add complexity to operations and supply chains.
To remain viable, businesses must invest in regulatory foresight and proactive engagement. Therefore Travel Retail should not act in isolation, but closely monitor regulatory evolution at local level to avoid any scenario where it is impacted disproportionally.
PM: Your answer leads well into the next, and the last, question. Why, in your view, is collective advocacy now more critical than ever for the industry?
NK: No single company, retailer or brand can address these challenges alone. Regulatory pressure, geopolitical instability and structural change require a coordinated response.
ETRC’s mission as an association is to serve its members and help create the right environment to allow the industry to achieve its potential and protect it when challenges arise.
ETRC’s role is to foster collaboration across the value chain — aligning interests where possible and ensuring that the industry speaks with a credible, informed and unified voice.
Collective advocacy is no longer optional; it is essential if travel retail is to protect its operating environment, persuade policymakers and partners, and ultimately prosper.
