As the sun slowly sets on 2023, the travel retail industry can look back on a year of steady, if uneven, recovery, despite the challenges of global inflation, supply-chain disruption and wars in Ukraine and the Middle East. According to data from the Airports Council International (ACI), global air traffic will end up falling short of pre-Covid levels by the year’s close, reaching 8.6 billion passengers, around 94% of 2019’s total.

Looking ahead to 2024, the recovery is set to continue. ACI predicts every region will eventually surpass pre-Covid levels of traffic during the upcoming year with Latin America and the Caribbean the first markets to make the breakthrough. When the Year of the Dragon finally draws to a close, ACI believes total global traffic will have reached 9.4 billion passengers, 102.9% of pre-pandemic levels.

Passenger numbers may have recovered during 2023 but travel patterns shifted, according to travel consultancy Forward Keys. Sun and sea destinations have continued to perform well, posting an increase in tourist arrivals of 26% this year but urban destinations recorded a higher growth rate of 52%. Encouragingly for the travel retail sector, demand for luxury travel experiences is outpacing regular travel options. Despite widespread fears about the cost of living, consumers are still willing to pay more for high-end travel experiences, it would appear.

Asia Pacific (APAC), traditionally the engine room of premium-plus spirits in travel retail, is still playing catch-up to other regions. Bangladesh, Pakistan and India were the top-performing APAC markets this year, according to Forward Keys, with many people travelling to visit friends and family for the first time since the pandemic. Indonesia and Japan were the best-performing leisure markets, but China’s outbound travel market was slow to reactivate after reopening in January, hampered by high air fares, a lack of capacity and the country’s worsening economy.

In contrast, Singapore Changi is one of APAC’s fastest-recovering hubs, with passenger traffic numbers reaching 89% of pre-Covid levels in September. The following month, the airport’s duty free liquor concessionaire Lotte Duty Free staged its second annual World of Wines & Spirits (WOWS) activation. This five-month promotion included masterclasses from expert brand ambassadors and a live VIP event in downtown Singapore at the end of October, boasting Michelin-starred canapés and artistic performers.

Showcasing rarities

The carefully curated WOWS collection comprised more than 100 luxury wines and spirits from 56 different brands. Among the rarities showcased was The Macallan 72 Years Old in Lalique – The Genesis Decanter, the oldest ever whisky released by The Macallan; Martell 70 Years Old Grande Champagne, limited to just 70 hand-crafted Baccarat decanters; and Bowmore John Galvin, a 52-year-old Islay single malt named after the Glasgow-based master craftsman who designed the whisky’s striking wooden gift box.

The WOWS activation was also the launchpad selected for the new Hibiki 21 Year Old, one of two new releases from the House of Suntory to mark the Japanese whisky maker’s centenary (the other being a travel retail exclusive Hibiki Japanese Harmony Master’s Select).

The 43% abv Hibiki 21 Year Old is a blend of malt and grain whiskies priced at $6,321.50. Featuring an anniversary label design displaying the colours of the sunrise – a Japanese symbol of life, vitality and the flowing passage of time– this new whisky will also be available at London Heathrow Terminal 5, Dubai and Frankfurt airports, as well as in Hainan at the CDF Sanya International Duty Free Complex in Haitang Bay.

While Japanese whisky clearly has a bright future in travel retail, Scotch whisky’s dominance of the duty free spirits scene continues. 2023 will be remembered as a year when the big Scotch single malt brands expanded their presence in the channel despite supply constraints.

The latest brand to launch its standalone airport store is Moët Hennessy’s Glenmorangie. The Wondrous Glenmorangie Boutique opened its doors at London Heathrow Terminal 2 in October.

With a store design aimed to reflect the world of whisky through its use of oak and copper to evoke oak casks and stills, the store features a wide selection of either rare or prestige Glenmorangie expressions, including releases exclusive to the store such as Glenmorangie Tuiga and Glenmorangie Sonoma. The boutique also features a mixology-oriented sampling bar and a bottle-engraving service.

While Glenmorangie has just opened its first airport boutique, The Macallan now has four located at New York JFK, Taipei Taoyuan, Dubai and London Heathrow airports. The iconic Speyside distillery added a new shop-in-shop at Panama’s Tocumen airport in partnership with Duty Free America earlier this year and unveiled a new core five-strong travel retail exclusive range called The Colour Collection, a quintet of age-statement, sherry cask-matured malts featuring packaging created by graphic designer David Carson.

To cap a super-busy 2023 off, The Macallan had more travel retail news to announce – the third edition in the brand’s travel-exclusive Harmony Collection, a range featuring innovative, sustainable packaging.

For the latest edition, The Macallan enlisted the help of photographer Mary McCartney and her fashion designer sister Stella McCartney. Together, they created two new releases, The Macallan Harmony Collection Amber Meadow and Green Meadow, inspired by the Scottish countryside and featuring packaging made from discarded meadow cuttings.

While few brands rivalled The Macallan for its level of activity and investment into travel retail this year, rising passenger numbers and returning customer confidence levels should create opportunities for other brands and drinks categories in what should be a positive year for travel retail in 2024.