Europe’s airport duty-free sales hit all-time high of €9.5 billion in 2024, ETRC reports

EUROPE. European airport duty free sales reached their highest value ever in 2024, with total sales of €9.5 billion, a +9.6% rise year-on-year. That’s according to the European Travel Retail Confederation (ETRC), which has released the ETRC Business Performance Index for 2024.

The ETRC Airport Index, said the trade organisation, “marks a significant step forward in the sector’s recovery, underscoring its resilience and vital role within the broader travel ecosystem as well as passenger experience”.

The ETRC also recently released the first ETRC Nordic & Baltic Ferry Index, which was previewed by Pi Insight at the Nordic Travel Retail Seminar last week, as reported.

In the airport channel, while unit sales continue to lag behind value and passenger growth, spend per passenger increased by +1.3% compared to 2023 and by +7% compared to 2019, influenced by inflation and shift in consumer behaviour and purchasing patterns, noted ETRC.

Individual categories performed strongly, surpassing 2019 sales levels overall. Wines & spirits sales remain below pre-pandemic figures, though Q4 showed encouraging signs.

The ETRC Nordic & Baltic Ferry Index, developed in close cooperation with key ferry operators in the region, provides for the first time an accurate and comprehensive view of the Nordic and Baltic ferry duty-free sector, based on actual data shared by the region’s leading ferry operators, the association said.

In 2024, value sales in the regional channel reached €686.4 million, down -5.2% on 2023 and -24.7% lower than 2019 levels. This trend largely mirrors the evolution of passenger numbers, which also declined compared to both 2023 and 2019, against a challenging geopolitical backdrop for the region. Notably, spend per passenger showed a strong increase following the pandemic but has since settled back to a level comparable with 2019, standing at €25.81 last year.

Wines & spirits continue to lead sales in the Nordic & Baltic ferry channel, with a share of 34% in 2024. All categories showed a decline in 2024 on 2023, with the exception of beauty, which increased by +5.3% over 2023.

Commenting on the launch of the ETRC Ferry Index, ETRC Vice-President Maritime Affairs Piret Mürk-Dubout said: “This is a historical moment for us after two years of dedicated collaboration. I would like to express my gratitude to all ferry operators, Pi Insight and Shippax for their making this happen. We look forward to continue our work together and create meaningful impact for the channel.”

ETRC Secretary General Julie Lassaigne added: “The launch of the Nordic & Baltic Ferry Index represents a major milestone for our industry, as it finally reveals the size and potential of the ferry duty-free channel in this important region. We are also pleased to see continued growth for European airport duty-free sales, driven by passenger recovery and strong consumer engagement.

“On behalf of ETRC, I extend our particular thanks to Pi Insight, our trusted partner on this project, to ForwardKeys and Shippax for providing passenger data for airport and ferry traffic respectively, and last but not least, to participating travel retailers and ferry operators for their trust and willingness to make the ETRC Indexes possible.”

The ETRC Index reports are available exclusively to ETRC members.