TFWA world exhibition and conference

The 41st edition of the TFWA world exhibition and conference will bring the industry together around this year’s theme, “Shaping the world of travel retail”, to explore how changing traveler expectations, new technologies, and market shifts are redefining travel retail and global commerce.

More than 3,000 prestigious brands across the duty-free and travel retail industry will join industry leaders and key decision-makers to exchange perspectives, share experiences, explore new business opportunities, and build connections across the global sector.

This edition will examine how airports and transport hubs are adapting to new technologies, sustainability demands, and changing traveler expectations. It will also explore how commercial spaces are being reimagined and what that means for the relationship between travelers, destinations, and brands.

Across a series of morning sessions, industry experts will share perspectives on geopolitics, shifts in global mobility, emerging technologies, and the evolving sustainability agenda. Together, these conversations will challenge established assumptions, surface new ideas, and help participants consider how the travel retail sector may need to evolve.

September 28, 9–11:45 am CET

The future of mobility — Reimagining airports, travel and commercial spaces

Gilles Roucolle, managing partner and Head of Industries at Oliver Wyman and author of Transformations in mobility, will join a session exploring how airports and transport hubs are evolving in response to technological innovation, sustainability, and changing traveler expectations.

The session will cover:

• How technology and sustainability are shaping the future of airports and transport hubs.
• How smarter, more connected and experience-driven mobility is transforming commercial spaces.
• What these changes mean for the relationship between travelers, brands, and destinations.

Moderator: Stephen Sackur, Author, journalist and presenter HARDtalk. 

Speakers: Gilles Roucolle, managing partner, Oliver Wyman; Sarah Branquinho, president, Tax Free World Association; David McWilliams, economist, author and podcaster; Charles Duhigg, journalist, The New Yorker.

September 29, 8–9am CET

Global travel retail pulse — Opportunities in customer growth

Travel retail is growing, but the pace of growth is increasingly uneven across geographies, categories, and generations. As a new generation of travelers emerges, the industry’s historic price-led proposition alone is no longer enough to attract and convert customers.

Looking ahead, this session will examine what the next growth model for travel retail could look like. As traveler expectations and behaviors evolve, industry players face new questions around how to attract, engage, and retain customers while creating a seamless journey across travel retail and domestic channels.

Drawing on a bespoke study conducted exclusively for TFWA by Oliver Wyman, the discussion will combine consumer research, executive perspectives, and market analysis to identify emerging growth opportunities. The session will explore how the industry can strengthen its relevance, respond to changing customer expectations, and build more compelling experiences in a rapidly evolving travel landscape.

Moderator: Charlène Tourneaux, managing director, TFWA.

Speakers: Denise van Wijk, principal, Oliver Wyman; Pierre-Alexandre Koch, partner, Oliver Wyman.