This week in travel retail: Strange tales and true from our industry

Welcome to This Week in Travel Retail, The Moodie Davitt Report’s regular round-up of how our industry is portrayed in the world’s consumer media. We present tall tales and true – from the quirky and the sensational to the investigative and critical – in a revealing look at how a global business sector is portrayed.

Personalisation taken to another level at Delhi Airport’s Baker Street coffee shop

Picture perfect coffee: Delhi Indira Gandhi International Airport’s European-style bistro café Baker Street is offering personalised coffee with a difference – by adding an image of the customer. This video, released by the airport on LinkedIn, shows how the coffee art process works. “How about trying the coolest hot coffee at Terminal 1 Delhi airport? A coffee that features you,” the video states. The passengers in the video appear delighted with the results – and eager to post images to social media.

Edinburgh Airport Gordon Dewar Chief executive being presented with an Autism Friendly award by Jenny Paterson, director of the National Autistic Society Scotland, Also pictured is Ryan Gibbons who suffers from Autisim. Source: www.iangeorgesonphotography.co.uk

Going the extra mile: Edinburgh Airport has won recognition for the accessible and supportive environment it has created for autistic passengers and their families/carers. It has become the first airport in Scotland to achieve an Autism Friendly Award. Among its initiatives, the airport provides extra training for staff to help passengers with additional needs. It also offers discreet lanyards and pin badges to identify those with hidden disabilities so staff are aware of the need for additional support. And it provides books to children who haven’t travelled before, or who need something extra to help them prepare.

Seven-year-old Ryan Gibbons, who has autism and travels regularly through the airport with his mother Kim, gave the airport the ultimate thumbs-up. “I really like airports and aeroplanes so it’s really exciting when I come to the airport to go away, and the people who help us through the airport are very helpful and friendly,” he said.

Checking in could be a thing of the past, meaning more time for duty free shopping perhaps

A smoother journey: Condé Nast Traveler has highlighted how dwell time in an airport is getting “more pleasant” for travellers with new apps such as Airport Sherpa and AtYourGate that will deliver food from airport restaurant straight to the gate. The story outlines several new innovations for 2018 that may take some of the stress out of travel, leaving more time for duty free shopping perhaps.

From biometric identification and helpful robots to voice-enabled reservations and better inflight Wi-Fi, travellers can expect a smoother journey in future. For example, checking in will be a thing of the past, according to Delta Chief Executive Officer Ed Bastian. “You’ve booked your ticket and paid for it; we know who you are—why do you need to check in?” he stated.

Johnson’s cross-Channel bridge proposal has led to ambitious ideas of artificial islands between the UK and France that could host casinos and duty free shops

Bridge over troubled waters: UK Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson’s proposal for a cross-Channel bridge between Britain and France has been greeted with mixed reactions. Johnson’s plan to build a bridge across the 20-mile stretch is aimed at cementing (perhaps literally) the relationship between the two countries after Brexit. While some experts have deemed the idea “entirely feasible”, the UK shipping industry is not so keen on the impact on what is one of the busiest shipping lanes in the world, reports The Guardian.

However, New Civil Engineer magazine’s Technical Editor, Dave Parker, has told UK press that problems could be avoided by building artificial islands in the Channel, linked to the shore by viaduct and joined to one another by a tunnel. The islands could become venues for attractions such as hotels, casinos and even duty free shops, he suggested.

The South Pacific island of Vanuatu is stepping up the battle against plastic pollution, and all retailers are required to do their part

Plastic pollution: Retailers in Vanuatu, including the Fung Kuei Duty Free in Port Vila, are preparing for a plastic-bag ban, reports Radio New Zealand. The import and manufacture of single-use non-biodegradable plastic bags and polystyrene takeaway boxes are banned from 31 January although there’s a six month grace period to allow shops to use up their existing stock. Fung Kuei Duty Free in Port Vila has said it hopes to comply by March.

 

Grand design: A new video (see above) charting the development of Istanbul New Airport, set to open in October, gives travellers a preview of the extraordinary project. Operator İGA provides a behind-the-scenes look into the construction phase of the airport, which will have an annual passenger capacity of 90 million initially and 200 million once all phases are finalised. The video shows the efforts of construction staff working day and night on the grand-scale project.

NZmade.com’s premium dried seafood gift boxes contain dried paua, ling sound, sea cucumbers and elephant fish frame

Premium tastes: NZmade.com, a manufacturer and exporter of premium dried and frozen seafood products, has announced via LinkedIn that its products are now available at Aelia Duty Free at Auckland Airport. The duty free shop features its Nutrel “Premium Taste of New Zealand” dried seafood gift boxes. Its weird and wonderful products include dried paua, ling sound, sea cucumbers and elephant fish frame. The company promised more news on listings in the near future.

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