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Today’s issue of Travel Markets Insider is jammed pack with news, from new commercial openings at airports from the U.S. East Coast to the Hawaiian islands; and in-depth coverage of both the Seatrade Cruise Global event with its Retail Days, to the F&B@Sea event, which attracted hundreds of exhibitors, thousands of attendees and surpassed all expectations.
With the TFWA Asia Pacific Exhibition and Conference less than two weeks away, TMI also reports on the expanded program and new experiences that will be offered. Pages 1 & 3.
AIRPORTS & CONCESSIONS
JFK Terminal 8
First, a completely transformed Terminal 8 at JF Kennedy International Airport officially debuted last week, and the $125 million commercial program unveiled more than 60 new dining and retail concessions. The new concepts have been created to reflect the culture and creative spirit of New York City and its home borough of Queens, including 20 local dining and retail brands from Avolta, Hudson and HMSHost. See an overview of the opening on pages 1 & 3.
TMI’s Michael Pasternak was on hand for the celebration, and we will have further detailed interviews in upcoming issues.
Among the new Terminal 8 openings was a delightful new LEGO store operated by Duty Free Americas. See more details on page 9.
At the same time that the Port Authority of New York & New Jersey, American Airlines, ASUR Airports and Phoenix Infrastructure Group were celebrating the opening of Terminal 8, International Shoppes, another New York-based retail concessionaire, was inaugurating their new concessions at Hawaii’s Honolulu International Airport, which will eventually encompass 29 locations. iShoppes co-CEO’s Scott Halpern and Matt Greenbaum speak with TMI about this new concession and its community-driven retail program. Page 4.
SEATRADE CRUISE GLOBAL: F&B@SEA
Featuring more than 230 food and beverage vendors – including many familiar duty free and travel retail brands – the 2026 iteration of Seatrade’s offshoot F&B exhibition attracted upwards of 3,000 attendees over two days.
It is hard to describe the buzz of excitement and anticipation in the exhibition space, which featured tastings, sampling, masterclasses in mixology and cooking, and important and entertaining presentations in the venue’s Main Stage area. In fact, the chief worry we heard was that the show may have already outgrown its space. Of critical importance, there were buyers everywhere. Some 85 cruise line brands attended the main Seatrade event, and many of them made their way to the Mana Wynwood Convention Center where the F&B event took place. See story and pictures on pages 5 & 6.
SEATRADE CRUISE GLOBAL: THE RETAIL DAYS
As the main gathering of the global cruise industry, the massive Seatrade Cruise Global which has been held in Miami Beach for the past 40-plus years, attracted more than 12,500 attendees from 125 countries. The event featured more than 650 exhibitors – most of them ports and destinations from around the world – as well as 92 conference and workshop sessions that covered everything from destinations to technology, sustainability to AI.
In addition, onboard retail came in for its own dedicated program coordinated by Seatrade and The Moodie Davitt Report, in which key experts in the channel addressed specific opportunities and challenges. See pages 7 & 8.
To download a copy of the Retail Trends Report jointly published by Seatrade Cruise Global and The Moodie Davitt Report, please click here.
PEOPLE
And finally, congratulations to Rowena Holland and Sarah Genest at Essential Communications. Rowena started her agency as the first global travel retail PR and communications specialist 30 years ago. Row is stepping into a new role as Editorial & Key Accounts Director, while Sarah has been named Managing Director. Essential Communications is now part of The Bulldog Group. See more details on page 9
