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This is \u201cno longer a simple post-pandemic market distortion<\/b>.\u201d<\/p>\n
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For the third consecutive year<\/b>, traveler spending at airports has fallen<\/b>, confirming a structural trend<\/b>. This is a paradoxical phenomenon, given that there have never been so many passengers flying.<\/b><\/p>\n
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Kearney’s annual report highlights the post-COVID recovery in air traffic, which continued in 2024, with total passenger numbers reaching 9.5 billion, an increase of 8.5% compared to 2023 and 3% more than the peak recorded before the pandemic in 2019. Driven by emerging markets, and India in particular<\/b>, this upward trend is expected to continue, potentially reaching $9.9 billion in 2025 and exceeding $11 billion in 2030.<\/p>\n
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This new annual study<\/b> by Kearney was conducted in June 2025 among 3,000 passengers and 40 senior executives in the global travel retail sector<\/b>.<\/p>\n
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Kearney’s report identifies five global dynamics impacting the travel retail industry: the geopolitical reshaping of the global landscape, macroeconomic fragmentation, consumer polarization, technological disruptions, and the erratic evolution of climate issues. These are very tangible phenomena that have a direct impact on consumer behavior and the strategy of travel retail players.<\/p>\n
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The most pressing challenge<\/b> at present is undoubtedly geopolitical instability<\/b>.<\/p>\n
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Many destinations are likely to be affected, with 40% of passengers in the Middle East and 30% in the Asia-Pacific region<\/b> transiting through countries at risk of conflict.<\/b><\/p>\n
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Overall, this means that one in four travel retail markets worldwide<\/b> (representing more than $18 billion<\/b>) is located in a geographically unstable<\/b> area, both economically and politically.<\/p>\n
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The airspace restrictions linked to the war in Ukraine<\/b> are a good example. Due to the diversion of air traffic between the east and west, nearly 17 million passengers<\/b>\u2014and just as many consumers\u2014have been rerouted to alternative itineraries<\/b> that have taken them away from the main European travel retail destinations, making it impossible to make up for the shortfall in revenue. For example, wealthy consumers from Russia<\/b> now travel via Asia and the Middle East<\/b>, resulting in a net loss of nearly $165 million<\/b> in sales that would normally have been made.<\/p>\n
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