Excitement is building ahead of the consumer-voted Global Travel Retail Awards in Cannes and TRBusiness is thrilled to announce that the ceremony is being further elevated this year with a bold new set-up and engaging features that are set to make the evening even more memorable.

Taking place on Tuesday 30 September from 18:45-23:00 at Hôtel Martinez in Cannes, to coincide with the TFWA World Exhibition and Conference, the Travel Retail Awards are a must-attend event – not only for finalists, but also for executives from the wider DF&TR industry who want to gain a deeper insight into the minds of travelling consumers and seize a coveted chance to network with airports, retailers, suppliers and other stakeholders who are ‘Voted by Shoppers’.

The evening will begin at 18:45 sharp, with a sparkling opening cocktail sponsored by Henkell Freixenet, providing an excellent opportunity to strengthen partnerships and forge new connections.

High-profile attendees to the Travel Retail Awards ceremony this year include executives from heavyweight airport operators Fraport AG and Heathrow, retailers including Harding+, and leading brands such as Mondelez World Travel Retail, On the Mark Beauty, William Grant & Sons, Lumene, V. Fraas, Seeberger, The Freixenet Group, BeautyPro, Liht Organics, Villa Sandi, Whyte & Mackay, Food Accademia, Travel Blue, Butlers, ANDS, BAT, Scent of Africa, Bottega SpA, Flipside Luggage, Zaza & Lili, Margaret Dabbs, Cabeau, VSPT Wine Group, Maestrani, Dr. Paw Paw, Fazer, Ajmal, Gassan Diamonds, Jägermeister, Moroccanoil, Mozart Koogles, Travel Blue, Bloom Dead Sea Life – and many more.

Henkell Freixenet will be serving its Mionetto Prosecco DOC Treviso brut – both its classic and alcohol-free version.

Additionally, guests will be able to taste the famous Mionetto Aperitivo, which will be used to prepare the Mionetto Orange Spritz. This will be offered in three versions: alcoholic, low alcohol, and alcohol-free.

The serves from Henkell Freixenet will also be available throughout the dinner.

Opening cocktail sponsor Henkell Freixenet will be serving its Mionetto Prosecco DOC Treviso brut – both its classic and alcohol-free version.

Further to the above, guests can also sip drinks courtesy of bar sponsor Teremana – the tequila brand founded by Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson and distributed by Mast-Jägermeister SE.

Teremana will be serving the People’s Margarita, featuring a zingy blend of Teremana Blanco, lime juice agave nectar and pineapple juice to taste. More special serves for the evening will be The Paloma and Añejo on the Rocks.

Left: Teremana will be serving the People’s Margarita, among other cocktails. Right: Añejo on the Rocks.

Capturing memories is being made even easier this year with instant-print cameras, also courtesy of Teremana, which will be placed on the bar for use by all. Simply snap your best shots, collect your prints and insert them into the frames provided for a keepsake of the evening.

There’s also a photobooth sponsored by Bloom Dead Sea Life, where guests can strike a pose and pick up the fun print outs. Digital versions of these images are also available for sharing.

Bloom’s Dead Sea Hands and Body Scrub, containing minerals (natural salt crystals) from the Dead Sea mixed with aroma oils and grapefruit oil, gently buffs away dead skin cells and impurities for a soothing and invigorating scrub experience.

For an extra sensory treat ahead of the ceremony, Bloom Dead Sea Life will also be offering mini hand treatments using its Dead Sea Hands and Body Scrub, giving attendees the chance to experience smoother, softer skin in a flash – the ideal prep for accepting trophies later in the evening.

Ticket-holders will invited to take their seats at 19:30, when dinner will be served.

Attendees will be invited take to their seats at 19:30 sharp for a premium dinner.

Following this premium dining experience, TRBusiness Managing Editor Faye Bartle will take to the stage at 20:45 to kick-start the moment we’ve all been waiting for – the dazzling ceremony.

In an exciting update, TRBusiness is revealing a new-look dynamic room set-up, designed by production partner doplr, part of The Bluedog Group.

There will be a central stage with tables positioned all around it for an immersive, 360-degree view of all the action for each and every attendee. This, says, dopl, will help to put everyone in the thick of the activity.

A gold carpet will lead to a victor’s photo wall where our photographer will be waiting to capture the trophy winners on camera.

In addition to the popular lineup up of product awards, this year’s programme sees a number of new categories in the mix including Best Airport Retail Initiative (Campaign), Best Airport Retail Initiative (Special Occasion) and Best Airport Activation (Out-of-Store).

The winners will be revealed and invited up to the stage to collect their trophies. Plus, for the second year running, our compact shopping bag trophies will also be awarded to those earning Highly Recommended status, meaning finalists have more than one chance of claiming a moment in the spotlight.

Trophies will be awarded to all those earning Winner and Highly Recommended status.

As a grand finale, the Best Overall Product award has been announced and presented by TRBusiness Co-owners and joint CEOs Nigel Hardy and Janice Hook.

Next, the after party will rock the room with a live band encouraging everyone to get up onto the feet to dance the evening away.

This year’s delegate gift bag is the Travel Blue Venture Lite backpack, containing products from our event partners.

Attendees will leave with a gift bag – a stylish backpack provided by sponsor Travel Blue – containing products from our event partners.

The bag itself is the Travel Blue Venture Lite backpack, which is made from high-quality, lightweight nylon and features a practical side handle and double zips designed for locking. What’s more, it fits perfectly under airline seats.

Ticket sales closing 23 September

TRBusiness would be delighted to welcome you to the ceremony. The countdown is on, however, with less than three weeks left to secure your seat in the room.

Tickets are bookable until 23 September, 2025, subject to availability.

Single tickets are priced at £ 450 +VAT (20%) while those who want to celebrate with colleagues and business partners can secure a table for 10 for £4,300 +VAT (20%)

“On behalf of the TRBusiness team, I’d like to take this opportunity to express our sincere thanks to this year’s events partners for supporting the Travel Retail Awards – you are making it possible to bring to life the DF&TR industry’s only consumer-voted awards programme,” said Nigel Hardy, co-owner and joint CEO of TRBusiness.

“We launched the awards in 2018 with a vision to give travelling consumers a voice and to celebrate, on a grand scale, the products and initiatives that shoppers truly rate. We are incredibly grateful to you for believing in this initiative, which serves to help the industry grow.”

In additional to the partners mentioned above, Moroccanoil is backing this year’s Travel Retail Awards as a Platinum Sponsor; The BlueDog Group is a Gold Sponsor; and Cabeau and Mozart Koogles are Silver Sponsors.

Visit www.travelretailawards.com to find out more – and good luck to all the finalists!

READ MORE: Revealed – Travel Retail Awards 2025 finalists

Thank you to our event partners