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Wednesday 1 3 May 2026 5 T F W A D A I L Y Artificial intelligence (AI), they added, will increasingly shape how travellers plan and shop. “As AI plays a bigger role in influencing travellers’ journeys, brands will need to connect the right mission to the right product.” Over the next few years, the region will be defined by greater diversity of traveller profiles, more selective spending, and increasingly digital decision-making. While China remains central, India and Southeast Asia are emerging as important growth engines. “India is becoming a more material source market, with meaningful long-term spend growth potential,” Jacky Lui and Waldemar Jap said, noting also the rising importance of South Korean and Southeast Asian travellers. This diversification will require greater agility across marketing, assortment, pricing and in-store execution, supported by investment in innovation and AI-enabled operations. Ultimately, they concluded, the key shift is timing: influencing travellers earlier in their journey. “Stop treating the airport store as the first point of influence,” Jacky Lui and Waldemar Jap said. “Engage travellers when they are planning the trip, thinking about gifts, or deciding how to use airport time.” They closed with a call for industry-wide collaboration. “The industry has reasons to be optimistic, but optimism alone will not close the conversion gap. No single player can solve relevance, data, experience, and conversion alone.” The need for faster, more flexible and more data-driven operating models The second part of the session was a compelling interactive panel discussion moderated by Michele Miranda, Conference Director, TFWA, in conversation with Pedro Yip, Oliver Wyman Partner and Head of Consumer, Telco and Technology – Asia Pacific; Nicolas Giro tt o, Chief Commercial O ffi cer, Avolta; and Jacky Lui, Partner, Oliver Wyman. They collectively pointed to the need for faster, more flexible and more data-driven operating models across the industry. Opening the discussion on the current business climate, Miranda referenced the study’s findings that volatility is now embedded in the system rather than an external shock. “Are our business models still designed for stability when the market is now defined by disruption?” she asked. Jacky Lui argued that while travel retail has evolved, it has not kept pace with either consumer change or other retail channels. “The speed that our business model is evolving compared to the speed that our consumers are evolving… we are not fast enough,” he said. Lui highlighted three immediate priorities: agility, speed and cross-industry alignment. “We need to move from a single playbook into an agility that can absorb diversity,” he explained. “We need faster response capabilities to win in moments of volatility.” Nicolas Giro tt o agreed that the sector is structurally unprepared for ongoing disruption. “We are not designed for volatility,” he said. “What we need is flexibility in our supply chain, in our assortment, and in our o ff ering. Having a set model is not an option anymore.” He also stressed diversification as a key resilience strategy, noting the importance of expanding beyond legacy assumptions about passenger mix and demand concentration. “Geographical diversification and diversification in business lines are what will make us more resilient,” he said. The discussion turned to the evolving Chinese traveller, with consensus that recovery will not mirror past pa tt erns. Lui described the shift as structural rather than temporary. “If you don’t get a full recovery, then at some point you have to accept it will come back di ff erently,” he said, citing Japan as an example of howmarkets adapt through rapid diversification. He added that retailers must rethink their role in the broader consumer journey. “Think less transactionally and more about creating the right consumer journey across touchpoints,” he said, highlighting AI and CRM integration as critical enablers of future agility. Pedro Yip expanded on the role of technology in managing increasingly diverse traveller profiles. “The customer base is really diversified now,” he said. “AI can analyse airport-by-airport traveller mix and help tailor assortments and experiences much more precisely.” He noted that this capability will be essential as India, South Korea and Southeast Asia become more significant demand drivers alongside China. On the question of China’s evolving role, Giro tt o urged a pragmatic mindset. “We need to put emotions aside,” he said. “Relying on one group of passengers was never a healthy model. A diversified customer base is far more resilient.” He also pointed to a major industry paradox: while travel retail sits on a wealth of data, it remains underutilised. “We are an industry with a wealth of data that domestic retail would dream of, and yet we are underusing it,” he said. The panel also debated the longstanding price advantage of duty free in an era of instant price transparency. Yip suggested transparency could initially benefit the sector, but warned the advantage is eroding. “Price alone will not be our advantage long- term,” he said. Giro tt o reinforced this, arguing that experience and communication nowma tt er more than price cuts. “Lowering price is not the answer,” he said. “It is about communicating value and delivering experience. Customers are craving engagement.” The discussion closed on the estimated US$5 billion missed opportunity identified in the study. Lui a tt ributed it to a combination of demand creation, proposition design and execution gaps. “It’s about how we create reasons for people to buy beyond price,” he said. Giro tt o added that unlocking growth will require closer collaboration between airports, retailers and brands. “We need to break silos and work together on the customer journey from end to end,” he said. As the session concluded, the message was clear: the next phase of travel retail will not be defined by recovery alone, but by reinvention driven by flexibility, data, collaboration and experience-led growth. Pedro Yip, Partner and Head of Consumer, Telco and Technology – Asia Pacific, Oliver Wyman; Nicolas Giro tt o, Chief Commercial O ffi cer, Avolta; Jacky Lui, Partner, Oliver Wyman; and Michele Miranda, Conference Director, TFWA.