Cannes_2026_MONDAY_ISSUE_DIGITAL

T his morning’s TFWA World Conference features what is sure to be a compelling address from Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist and bestselling author Charles Duhigg, who will explore the forces shaping human performance, communication and behaviour – and how these shifts are influencing the consumer of the future. “I’ll be talking about connection – specifically, howmuch of it is available in an airport, and howmeaningful it can be,” says Duhigg. “When I was reporting ‘Supercommunicators’, what surprised me most was that connection isn’t a personality trait. It’s a skill, and it’s built on something fairly simple: recognising what the person in front of you needs from a conversation. Sometimes that conversation is practical – where’s my gate? But often, in an airport, it’s emotional. Someone is flying home for a funeral, or to meet a grandchild for the first time, or simply stressed by travel. Duty free staff meet people at a moment when almost nobody else is really looking at them, and T oday’s TFWA World Conference will hear from Gilles Roucolle, Managing Partner and Head of Industries at Oliver Wyman and author of Transformations in Mobility, who will explore how airports and transport hubs are evolving in response to technological innovation, sustainability and changing traveller expectations. “The central message for the conversation is that the role of the airport is entering another important transition,” says Roucolle. “We have moved from airports designed primarily to move planes, to those designed to move people at enormous scale. We are nowmoving towards airports that will be defined by intelligent mobility ecosystems that seamlessly connect people, places, brand and commerce. As technology removes friction and creates more seamless end-to- end journeys, and as AI proliferates, there will be a significant opportunity for travel retail. But passenger growth alone will not Putting human connection at the heart of travel retail when they need genuine help. 30 seconds of real attention is worth more than any promotion. My hope is that people leave thinking of their staff not as sellers, but as the person a traveller can rely on when they fly.” Duhigg highlights that airports are among the most emotionally dense places we ever pass through, but, as travellers, we often insist on treating them as logistical hubs. “Someone is going to a wedding. Someone is going to the hospital. Someone hasn’t seen their mother in three years. Nearly everyone is a little anxious, a little tired, a little unmoored – and almost nobody speaks to them as people. They are merely passengers,” he explains. “That’s what I’m looking forward to exploring with this audience. TFWA’s members employ hundreds of thousands of staff standing at exactly that pressure point, at exactly the moment a small kindness carries more weight than it would at home. The commercial case is real – connection builds loyalty in a way discounting never will.” capture it. The winners will be those that optimise the shopping experience, create genuinely distinctive retail propositions and respond dynamically to an increasingly diverse traveller mix.” What excites Roucolle is that airports and travel retail sit, quite uniquely, right at the intersection of several important macro-changes happening in the broader economy, such as mobility, technology and consumer behaviour. “At the same time, airports are under tremendous pressure to become more resilient and efficient while also dramatically raising the experience bar,” Roucolle explains. “Put another way – there is also a unique imperative to act here. Travel retail undoubtedly has an important role to play in that transition. In short, TFWA brings together the people who can turn those challenges into something tangible not only for travellers, but also for the broader economy.” Reimagining the airport – and the opportunity for travel retail Gilles Roucolle, Managing Partner, Global Head of Industries, Oliver Wyman: “Travel is becoming much more connected, continuous and intelligent. Three developments are particularly important: greater intermodal connectivity, rapid technology innovation and rising expectations around the passenger experience.” Charles Duhigg, Bestselling author and journalist, The New Yorker: “I’ll be talking about connection – specifically, howmuch of it is available in an airport, and howmeaningful it can be.” Monday 28 September 2026 12 T F W A D A I L Y