How Travel Retail Is Taking Experiential Marketing to New Heights

When most people think of experiential marketing, images of pop-ups at festivals or immersive brand events in buzzing city centres probably spring to mind. But there’s a whole other world of opportunity at ground level, in travel retail — particularly the airside zones of airports.

These spaces offer more than just last-minute snacks or duty-free splurges. They’re vibrant, high-footfall, premium environments where audiences are in a rare emotional state. One that makes them unusually receptive to new ideas, products, and experiences.

‍

The Traveller Mindset: Why Airside Feels Different

Think about the last time you travelled. You’ve made it through check-in and security. Your to-do list is temporarily on pause. Whether you’re about to board a long-awaited holiday flight or gearing up for an important business meeting abroad, you’re excited, curious, open, and hopefully relaxed!

This is the ‘anticipation advantage’ — a sweet spot where travellers are more likely to try something new, strike up a conversation, or say yes to an experience they wouldn’t have considered in the chaos of everyday life.

This mindset is exactly what makes Airside such an untapped goldmine for experiential marketing.

‍

The Growth of Travel Retail

Travel retail is soaring. The global market is worth around £79 billion in 2025, and is projected to grow to over £133 billion by 2029.

Closer to home, the UK’s travel retail sector generated roughly £3.9 billion in 2024, and it’s climbing steadily as passenger numbers rise and airport retail offerings become increasingly premium and experience-driven.

Airports like Heathrow and Gatwick see tens of millions of travellers every year. Many of them spend 90 minutes or more in the departure lounge. And in that time, they’re actively engaging with shopping environments — making them perfect hotspots for brand activations.

‍

Why Travel Retail Takes Experiential Marketing Higher

1. Built-In Premium Positioning

Airports already project a sense of exclusivity and quality, with curated retail environments that align with luxury, innovation, and world-class service. This creates a halo effect for activations, and brands instantly feel more premium by association.

2. Captive, Global Audiences

Unlike city-centre activations where footfall can be unpredictable, airside experiences benefit from steady, diverse flows of passengers from all over the world. This makes them ideal for mass awareness and targeted engagement with high-value travellers.

3. A Stage for Multi-Sensory Impact

Travel retail allows for immersive storytelling, from taste and scent-led sampling to interactive AR experiences. These activations can be tailored to travellers' unique pace and mood, ensuring they feel relevant rather than intrusive.

‍

Complexity Meets Creativity

Delivering experiences airside isn’t as simple as wheeling in a stand and turning up the music. It’s much more complex. There are operational logistics, strict security processes, and tight schedules to navigate.

And that’s before you’ve even dug into the travel consumer mindset to figure out what’s best to capture their attention. But the brands that get it right create powerful, memorable moments that travellers take with them long after they board.

From sensory-led sampling to immersive digital activations, success comes from understanding the audience's mindset and the environment's mechanics. Increasingly, that means thinking phygital — blending physical presence with digital tools like augmented reality, personalisation, and gamified interactions to craft experiences that feel fresh and worth sharing.

‍

Why It Matters for Marketers Right Now

As the sector grows and competition for consumer attention intensifies, airside retail offers something rare: a moment of stillness in the midst of motion, where brand presence aligns perfectly with emotional openness.

Travel retail is about more than making sales. It’s about earning a place in the traveller’s story.

Get it right, and your brand becomes part of the holiday nostalgia, the business-trip win, or the life milestone that journey represents.

For marketers, that’s an opportunity too good to miss.

‍

Thanks for reading folks. If you have any questions or interested in working with us, drop us a line