While some major international airports made headlines for inconvenience inflicted on passengers due to strikes and a lack of layoffs during the pandemic, the resumption of travel in (almost) the world will have a positive impact on travel retail. After two black years due to restrictions, sales in stations, airports and cruise terminals are once again growing: according to an estimate by Next Move Strategy reported by Statista, the world travel retail market in 2021 was worth 30 billion dollars (29.5 billions in euros, at current exchange rates) and will reach $ 175 billion in 2030.
New openings and restyling
The main share of goods sold is absorbed by cosmetic products and perfumes (see the article opposite), but the world of luxury is not going to miss the chance to win over (or win back) globetrotter customers. The big brands have started to open strategic stores again: Louis Vuitton, for example, has recently inaugurated a store in the Duty Free area of the Hamad International Airport in Doha, Qatar. The airport, which in 2021 was named World‘s best airport by Skytracx for the second year in a row, will literally be at the center of the globe in the autumn because, in addition to travelers in transit, it will welcome staff and fans heading to the World Cup, with about 8 millions of passengers expected between November and December. It is therefore in the sights of luxury brands: Burberry chose it for the debut of the new design concept, while at the beginning of May a spectacular Watch Room was inaugurated with, among others, Baume & Mercier, Iwc, Montblanc, Panerai, Ulysse Nardin . The main opportunity for brands is linked precisely to the return of travelers: according to the International Air Transport Association (Iata), the number of passengers in 2022 will be 83% of those in 2019 and in 2024 the pre-Covid levels will be exceeded with 4 billion passengers.
Focus Europa
Only the Milanese airports (Malpensa and Linate) should welcome around 18 million passengers this summer: Armando Brunini, managing director of Sea (the company that manages both airports), in mid-June said he expected traffic “between 85 and 90% compared to pre-pandemic data ». The declaration was made on the occasion of the opening of a new retail space, occupied by the La Feltrinelli bookshop in Linate. If this inauguration has little to do with fashion and luxury, the new look of the commercial area of the Forlanini airport, on the other hand, cannot do without it: the focus of the proposal are the stores of Dolce & Gabbana, Ferragamo, Zegna, Fratelli Rossetti, Emporio Armani, Borsalino and Damiani-Rocca. The restyling of the airports also involved the Leonardo Da Vinci in Rome, the first in Italy for the number of passengers (over 11.5 million in 2021 according to Enac): at the end of last year, Aelia Duty Free of the Lagardère Group opened in Fiumicino, the largest duty free shop in Europe, while in mid-May a new boarding area dedicated to domestic flights and the Schengen area was inaugurated which houses, among others, the first Eataly store in the world in an airport. Investments in European airports reflect the fact that the Old Continent is at the center of the revival of travel and tourism. And, consequently, of spending: if Global Blue, the main tax free operator in Europe, has certified the resumption of shopping in the Italian cities of art, on the whole, according to the intelligence report by Planet, tax free sales in Europe in May 2022 they grew by 726% compared to 2021. Although there remains a difference (-37%) with the period for Covid, tourists from outside the EU are back and are willing to spend.
Objective: to reduce inconvenience
In the latest update of the Altagamma Bain monitor, however, there is talk of a “slight recovery”: “Starting from the last months of 2021 and during the first quarter of 2022, travel retail has recorded positive growth, thanks to the recovery of tourist flows which it is mainly concentrated in Europe and America – explains Federica Levato, senior partner at Bain & Company -. However, the channel remains below pre-pandemic levels, due to the lack of tourism from Asia ». For the summer, increases in tourist flows are expected “especially in Europe, where it will therefore be necessary for operators in the segment to be able to cope with growing demand, reducing the current inconvenience for travelers to support and maximize sales on the channel”, says Levato. Looking beyond 2022: “This will be even more necessary in the medium-term perspective, when we will have to face the recovery of extra-regional tourist flows from Asia, which will contribute to drastically increase the demand for purchases of goods of luxury in airports, bringing the segment back to 2019 levels ».
The impact of high costs
In addition to the logistical inconvenience, with numerous flights canceled as early as June, among the many unknowns that weigh on the travel sector is that of the increase in costs: the increase in the price of fuel, combined with increasingly more inflation high is having a significant impact on tariffs. According to Codacons, for example, in May the fares of European flights underwent a 91% increase compared to the same period in 2021, while intercontinental flights cost 35.7% more.