Gaming Point – a commercial arm of UK-headquartered airport services provider Luggage-Point – has joined forces with DF&TR store design, build and project management firm Concourse to launch Travel Point Group, TRBusiness can reveal.

The combined entity will drive the expansion of all future Luggage-Point and Gaming Point sites under a profit share agreement, with both sides drawing on their respective expertise to provide an enhanced customer service proposition to airports.

Travel Point is already in ‘advanced discussions’ with many airports across Europe and Asia Pacific, TRBusiness is told.

“In my opinion the skill sets of both the Concourse and Luggage-Point management teams offer a fantastic synergy – providing a seamless journey from concept, design, creation and operation for any airport operator choosing to work with us,” commented Luggage-Point Business Development Director Graeme Stewart.

A chance meeting…

The roots of the partnership can be traced to last year’s TR Sustainability Week, when Stewart met Concourse’s Director Chris Morriss after both participated in panel discussions.

Following a meeting concerning the possibility of expanding the presence of Enviro-Point [not related to the new JV – Ed] to Singapore, conversation turned to Gaming Point and its plans to implement a modular design solution at airports.

After Concourse expressed an interest in assisting, further meetings ensued, leading to a memorandum of understanding between Gaming Point/Luggage-Point and Concourse.

“It has always been part of our Concourse strategic plan to eventually evolve our service offering to co-owning/operating the spaces we design and build,” explained Morriss.

“We have so much experience delivering pop-ups, fixtures and furniture in most travel retail locations around the world, we have come to know the spaces that do really well and why, so we hope to put this to good use and are really excited about this new partnership with Gaming Point.”

Luggage-Point introduced Gaming Point in 2022 in a bid to deliver exciting new experiential concessions using virtual reality technology for travellers at airports.

The VR gaming concessions require no upfront cost to the airport, with revenue split between Gaming Point and the landlord. Contract terms for the concessions are upwards of one year.

Gaming rooms are 4.6 x 5.5 metres, large enough to house up to five game players per session, with each session lasting from 30 to 45 minutes.

Each VR ‘escape room’ is supplied with the VR software for eight separate games, plus the VR equipment and screens.

A member of staff employed directly by Gaming Point is responsible for managing games, administering rules and looking after the spaces.

Gaming: Untapped revenue for airports

According to a November report from US-based Vantage Market Research, the global virtual reality gaming market was valued at US$7.5 billion in 2021 and is tipped to reach $37 billion by 2028 with a CAGR of +30.5% over the forecast period 2022-2028.

“We see a massive opportunity to bring new and exciting categories to travel retail that align with today’s travellers and that have a business model that can succeed for all parties involved,” continued Morriss.

“We see gaming and Web3 experiences as one of the fastest emerging trends globally right now and are really excited about the possibilities to bring this new category to life.

“We look forward to bringing our respective areas of expertise together to make this partnership a success and to bring a new and exciting experience to many airports around the world.”

With Luggage-Point/Gaming Point and Concourse heavily invested in the circular footprints of their respective businesses, both are expected to leverage a skillset and passion for sustainability.

Rob Penn, Founder and Group CEO of Concourse, added: “Since meeting with Graeme and his team last year, we at Concourse have been very excited about our latest joint venture with Gaming Point to support the development of sites around the world. With a number of locations already under development, we are confident that the addition of gaming locations at the worlds leading airports will provide a new source of revenue for operators and a great new retail experience for passengers traveling through airports.

“As a leading provider of retail build and project management, Concourse ensures that growing brands have access to full time support and funding to ensure a smooth and successful rollout of new retail opportunities.”