Why Global Travel Retail Needs a Rethink: Most Brands are Missing the Point.

I’ve spent a disproportionate amount of time in airports this summer. Between holidays, work trips and client visits, I’ve become something of a regular at security lines, departure gates and boarding queues. I’d like to say it’s given me a sense of calm mastery, but it hasn’t.

For most people, travel anxiety doesn’t melt away until you’ve reached your final destination. Whether you’re a couple chasing a week in the sun, a family wrestling buggies and boarding passes, a solo traveller on a long-haul mission, or a group of mates heading for a long weekend, the process is the same: stress, rush, repeat.

Is the back door locked? Will the taxi turn up? Will the M25 be clear? By the time you get to the airport, cortisol is already high. Then it’s watch off, belt off, laptop out, liquids bag ready. Even if you get through without a random bag search, you’re in a heightened state, and then you’re catapulted straight into the bright, overstimulating world of duty-free.

It’s an assault on the senses. Perfume sprays. Shiny counters. Flashing screens. A stranger offering you a lukewarm G&T in a nasty plastic shot glass. The problem isn’t the brands; it’s the mindset of the traveller. We’re simply not emotionally available at this point in the journey. We’re frazzled, overloaded, desperate to decompress, and when your audience’s headspace is chaos, your marketing efforts don’t stand a chance.

The Emotional Mismatch

For years, alcohol brands have invested millions in travel retail environments, building beautiful displays, running sampling bars, and shouting about exclusives or twin packs. But the truth is, most travellers don’t want to be engaged at this point. They’re still trying to calm their nervous system after security. Their brain is screaming “food, seat, calm” not “gift bag, limited edition, 2 for £50.”

Duty-free can be a comfort in its familiarity, the big brands, the predictable offers, but it’s rarely where real emotional connection happens. Brands are demanding attention at the wrong moment.

Surely this is an opportunity for travel retail brands. Why don’t we stop thinking about duty-free as the moment of conversion and start thinking about the wider travel experience as the opportunity for connection?

At the TFWA World Exhibition & Conference in Cannes last week, there was a lot of talk about innovation, AI and technology in global travel retail. Everyone’s chasing newness and the next big shiny thing, but what about a new approach to when and how we talk to travellers?

If dwell time airside averages two hours, that doesn’t mean you have two hours of brand attention. You have two hours of fluctuating anxiety, distraction, hunger, and boredom. The question surely isn’t how do we sell more in duty-free? But rather, where and when are travellers open to engaging?

Beyond the Shop Floor

I believe that brands that will win in GTR won’t necessarily have the biggest footprint in-store. Instead, they’ll be the ones who understand traveller psychology and meet people when they’re most receptive, not when they’re most stressed. The winners will be those who create a genuine value exchange for their audience’s time and attention, giving something meaningful back for engaging with the brand.

Here are a few thought-starters:

1. The Calm-Down Bar

Before they hit duty-free, travellers need a moment to breathe. What if brands owned that decompression space; a branded bar, café or tasting lounge that helps travellers relax, and then rewards them with a duty-free voucher to redeem once they’re calmer? Sampling still happens. Sales still happen. But they’re anchored in a human rhythm; calm first, connect second, convert third.

2. Gate Pop-Ups for Delayed Flights

Flight delayed? Spirits low? That’s your real dwell time. A surprise brand activation at the gate, whether alcoholic or non-alcoholic, would be remembered for the right reasons. A chilled San Pellegrino before boarding for Rome, or a zero-alcohol Asahi as you wait for Tokyo? It’s the perfect mix of timing, relevance, and generosity.

3. The Helpful Giveaway

Instead of fighting for sensory attention, offer something genuinely useful: a travel fan, a charger, an eSIM, a luggage tag, or a reusable bottle. Little acts of brand generosity that make travel easier build long-term goodwill. Add a scannable code for a digital gift or discount redeemable later. Help first, sell later.

4. Rethink “Retailtainment”

Immersive experiences have become the buzzword of the decade, but few are truly effective when crammed inside sterile retail spaces. What if you built a concept experience outside the store? Think of city-break airports like Barcelona with a branded concept bar; enjoy music and a final toast to the city before you board. Or a quiet, tech-free “Sip & Slow” zone before long-haul flights, hosted by a premium spirit. Context changes everything.

5. Flip the Pricing Game

If value drives purchase, why not mirror duty-free pricing at home? Brands could offer “fly-back” pricing: buy your first bottle in the supermarket when you return, at the same price as duty-free. Suddenly, the brand becomes a bridge between travel and home, not just a fleeting impulse buy.

Rethinking Dwell Time

It’s easy to think about how long people spend airside, but not how they feel during that time. Travel anxiety is real, and behaviour shifts accordingly.

People buy when they’re calm, open, and curious, not when they’re harried, hungry, or overstimulated. The opportunity for GTR brands is to understand that emotional landscape and then redesign experiences around it.

Our Take

At Valentine, we spend a lot of time thinking about connection, how people and brands meet in the real world, and what it takes to create emotional resonance. Whether it’s at a festival bar, a social feed, or a stadium experience, the formula’s always the same: Create chemistry. Build connection. Shift behaviour.

If brands can reframe travel retail as part of a bigger emotional journey, not the first bright light after security, they’ll find new ways to connect, new reasons to be remembered, and new opportunities to sell.

Right now, we’re all trying to talk to travellers at the wrong time. Let’s rethink when and how travellers can actually engage.

The human comes first; the sale will follow.