More top-tier speakers and attendees are joining this year’s consumer-centric TR Consumer Forum in Geneva, from 1-3 July, which is being activated under the banner of ‘From Air Traffic to Consumer Action: Putting Travellers at the Heart of Retail’, with IATA as the Host Partner. 

Organised by TRBusiness with consumer research partner m1nd-set, the duty free and travel retail (DF&TR) industry B2B event, is taking place at the IATA Geneva Conference Center.

Tickets are available to purchase until Friday 19 June and delegates can book their stay at the preferred hotel, the Crowne Plaza Hotel Geneva by IHG via TRConsumerForum.com,

Networking begins in earnest on Wednesday 1 July with the Welcome Cocktail, which is being held from 19:00-22:00 at the IATA offices at GVA airport. The event is generously sponsored by Lagardère Travel Retail  together with Geneva Airport, as well as Pernod Ricard Global Travel Retail and Henkell Freixenet as the wine partner.

Thursday 2 July

The global conference agenda commences on Thursday 2 July with a dual Keynote Address and State-of-the-Industry Address featuring Maja Marciniak, Senior Economist Policy Analysis, IATA and Dr. Peter Mohn, Founder & CEO of m1nd-set, with a Q&A facilitated by TRBusiness Editorial Director Faye Bartle.

They will delve into the Forum’s headline theme, providing a compelling insight that connects macro-level air traffic evolution with micro-level purchase behaviour, placing robust data and analysis at the core of strategic industry dialogue.

The first panel session of the day, titled ‘Navigating the Commercial Journey: Passenger Choices Between Food & Beverage and Retail in Airports’, will unpack m1nd-set’s global food & beverage (F&B) and retail dynamics research to examine how passengers navigate airport commercial environments at a global level. Kristina Mees, Chief Commercial Officer, Geneva Airport; Lauren Wood, Marketing Director of SSP UK; Rae Gibson, Director, Power Brands and Emerging Categories, Pernod Ricard Global Travel Retail  and Clara Susset, Chief Operating Officer at m1nd-set, are joining this conversation, moderated by Karl Walter, Partner at Blueprint.

From L-R: Kristina Mees, Rae Gibson, Lauren Wood, Clara Susset and Karl Walter.

Next up is the session titled ‘The Asia Traveller Reset: Who’s Moving, Who’s Spending, What’s Changing’, which will see or speakers zoom in on the nationalities emerging as the most influential spenders and dissect how their shopping behaviours and preferences are evolving across key travel retail touchpoints.

Speakers include Anne Kavanagh, the newly appointed Managing Director of APTRA, Yilin Wang, Founder & CEO of Yilin Consulting and Peter Mohn, CEO & Owner, m1nd-set – moderated by John Rimmer, Director, JCR Consulting.

From L-R: Anne Kavanagh, Yilin Wang, Peter Mohn and John Rimmer.

In the afternoon, Rory Ford, Head of Space and Strategy, Heathrow, Lucio Rossetto, Regional COO Europe & CSR Officer, Lagardère Travel Retail, Nicola Wells, Commercial & Marketing Strategist, USP; Julia Waldschmidt, Senior Trade Marketing Manager – Partner Markets & Duty Free EMEA / Americas, Oettinger Davidoff AG and Anna Marchesini, Head of Business Development, m1nd-set, will be imparting their knowledge on ‘Premiumisation versus Value-Seeking: The Polarisation of the Travel Retail Consumer’ – a session designed to explore the growing divergence between travellers who trade up and those who actively seek value. This session will be moderated by Andrew Machin, Managing Director, Kounter.

From L-R: Rory Ford, Lucio Rossetto, Julia Waldschmidt, Nicola Wells, Anna Marchesini and Andrew Machin.

This edition’s debut ‘Over to You – Live’ session, from 15:45-16:00 – which is an in-person rendition of our popular magazine opinion column of the same name – Alan Brennan, Global Commercial Director, Travel Blue, will be taking to the stage to share how travel essentials can unlock footfall and conversion in GTR.

In the Forum’s first-ever cruise retail session, Claire McLennan, Lifestyle Director at Harding+, Suzanne Mahoney, Founder & Consultant – Cruise & Travel Retail, Cruise Consultancy, Janice Smith, Sales & Marketing Director, YV Global, Hannah Whitehouse, Co-Founder, Raconteur, and Clara Susset, Chief Operating Officer at m1nd-set will be taking a deep dive into how brands and retailers are moving beyond passive listings to create experience-led onboard retail journeys that drive repeat engagement, dwell time, and spend throughout the voyage. This session will be moderated by TRBusiness Editorial Director Faye Bartle.

From L-R: Claire McLennan, Suzanne Mahoney, Janice Smith, Hannah Whitehouse, Clara Susset and Faye Bartle.

The Networking Evening Event is taking place at an iconic venue – stay close to TRBusiness for our dedicated story with all the details. Delegates can expect a standout evening to unwind and further build connections, with interactive entertainment and a special performance, in a very memorable setting.

Friday 3 July

The second full day of the conference will commence with a powerful keynote Kate Hardcastle MBE, internationally known as ‘The Customer Whisperer’ and author of The Science of Shopping.

Hardcastle will take to the stage to kick-start the day’s proceedings with an insight-packed talk titled ‘Driving Purposeful Spending in GTR Through Relevance, Trust and Emotional Connection’. She will also engage in a fireside conversation with TRBusiness Editorial Director Faye Bartle, to discuss bringing together consumer insight, commercial strategy and the evolving future of global travel retail.

L-R: Kate Hardcastle MBE and Faye Bartle.

The first panel session of the day is a TR Sustainability Hub Session titled ‘ESG Investment: Does Sustainability Drive Revenue or Loyalty?’ with m1nd-set research presented by Michael Barrett, Events & Public Relations Director, m1nd-set. Barrett will also moderate the session, sparking conversation with speakers Kreol Arakulath, Executive Manager, Kreol Group, Rebekah Lees, Head of Marketing & Communications, Eco Beauty Store Association and Lara Schlüter, Director Travel Retail , Babor Beauty Group.

The will delve into how travel retail stakeholders can strive to turn purpose-driven action into tangible commercial results.

From L-R: Kreol Arakulath, Rebekah Lees, Lara Schlüter and Michael Barrett.

Next up, experienced executives including Julie Lassaigne, Secretary General, ETRC, Nina Kristin Gür, Vice President Retail Key Account Management, Fraport AG, Marcin Kiryluk, Business Development Director, Baltona, and Mami Sakamaki, Director SFP, PMI GTR, and Anna Marchesini, Head of Business Development, m1nd-set are taking to the stage to discuss ‘Mapping Tomorrow’s European Travellers: Dynamics and Demand’. This session will also be moderated by John Rimmer, Director of JCR Consulting.

From L-R: Julie Lassaigne, Nina Kristin Gür, Mami Sakamaki, Anna Marchesini, and John Rimmer.

The discussion and debate on ‘From Traffic to Transaction: Driving Conversion and Spend Under Pressure’, will be driven by panellists including Richard Simkins, Commercial & Partnerships Director – Airports, JCDecaux UK, Anna Somogyi, Marketing Director – Category, Shopper & Customer at Mondelēz World Travel Retail and Clara Susset, Chief Operating Officer at m1nd-set.

The session will zoom in on the psychological and commercial drivers shaping purchase decisions in travel retail, including price perception versus exclusivity, the influence of staff interaction on trust and basket size, and how time pressure alters shopper behaviour. It will be moderated by Martijn Steur, Founder and Managing Director, Kinetic Consultancy.

From L-R: Richard Simkins, Anna Somogyi, Clara Susset, and Martijn Steur.

The final few hours of the conference will shift to a future-forward mindset, led by a talk by Lennard Niemann, Managing Director, Gharage Ventures, on the ‘ Consumer Shift and Technology Wave: Disrupting Potential in Travel Retail’.

He will discuss how today’s consumers adapt a genuinely different shopping behaviour, with buying decisions driven by the narrative of care: caring for self, caring for products & spaces, and caring for community. Additionally, he will discuss how they are AI natives, using new technologies intuitively, and will go on to explore how to adapt to these behavioural changes.

Lennard Niemann.

Switching up the pace is Blueprint Partner Thomas Henningsen, who will be delivering a 15-minute thought-provoking talk on ‘inconvenient predictions’ for the industry, exploring how airports, operators and brands must reinvent experiences, partnerships and value capture the coming years – or risk losing relevance.

To round-off the conference, Henningsen will then join a panel exploring the ‘Travel Retail Vision 2030’, which seeks to provide a strategic framework for how travel retail stakeholders can convert future passenger growth into sustainable commercial performance, joining speakers including Aude Bourdier, Founder of ABM Futureproof, Vadim Wichmann, Managing Director, SHIFT – WITH Group Company, Adrian Hayes, Founder & Independent Travel Retail Strategist, Cortex TR, with the m1nd-set research presented by the company’s Founder & CEO Dr. Peter Mohn. The session will be moderated by TRBusiness Editorial Director Faye Bartle.

From L-R: Thomas Henningsen, Aude Bourdier, Vadim Wichmann, Adrian Hayes, Dr. Peter Mohn, and Faye Bartle.

See who’s attending

The TR Consumer Forum attracts a rich pool of attendees representing a broad cross-section of the DF&TR community.

Among those confirmed to attend the 2026 edition include representatives from Dubrovnik Airport, LVMH, Avinor, Avolta, ABM Experience Solutions, ARI, Coty, Coeur de Lion, Duty Free Global, GMAX Travel Retail, Geneva Airport, ETRC, Heathrow Airport, Ian Macleod Distillers, JTI, Lagardère Travel Retail, Nestlé ITR, Nadri, Oettinger Davidoff, Pernod Ricard Global Travel Retail, Rémy Cointreau, Ritter Sport, Skross, Suntory Global Spirits, Travel Blue, William Grant & Sons, Walker’s and more.

TRBusiness and m1nd-set are looking forward to welcoming DF&TR stakeholders from around the world for yet another insight- and action-packed edition of the Forum.

Please click here to register your interest in speaking or partnering with the Forum as a sponsor or an exhibitor.

Visit www.TRConsumerForum.com to find out more.

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