Rival European travel retailers, Avolta and Lagardère Travel Retail (LTR), have made in-roads into the Latin American airport retail market, in Mexico and Peru respectively.

Paris-based LTR has unveiled a large retail offer in the new terminal of Peru’s main airport, Jorge Chávez International Airport, which is operated by Lima Airport Partners. In total, the travel retailer has inaugurated more than 43,000 square feet of store space, plus a dining area covering 35,500 square feet branded Nación Sazón – The Land of Flavours which Lagardère describes as “Latin America’s newest and freshest hub for local cuisine.”

Meanwhile, Switzerland-based Avolta, has won a new five-year contract at Guadalajara Airport in Mexico allowing it to expand its retail operations there to cover around 13,000 square feet which includes the opening of two new stores.

LTR’s new commercial spaces in Lima, follow two years of construction at the airport which, last year, was the fifth busiest in Latin America processing 24.5 million passengers, up by 15%. The strong rebound topped the 2019 record of 23.6 million, though this is mainly thanks to the high level of domestic air travel; international numbers are still about 6% off 2019.

Lima Airport Partners—80.01% owned by Germany’s Fraport and 19.99% by the International Finance Corporation (part of the World Bank Group)—wanted a strong focus on gastronomy to appeal to lucrative transfer passengers in particular, whose share of travelers remains below pre-Covid levels.

Chef-led dining

Nación Sazón which houses the food and beverage (F&B) offer features 13 units, including nine leading Peruvian brands that exemplify the country’s rich culinary heritage.

Among them are exclusive concepts developed with two of South America’s most celebrated chefs. They are the blended Japanese and Peruvian SAKAI by Mitsuharu Tsumura, chef at Maido ranked fifth among The World’s 50 Best Restaurants 2024; and the seafood-inspired CALLAO by Jaime Pesaque, chef at Mayta, ranked 41^st.

Other chef-led concepts include creole cuisine from José del Castillo at Las Reyes by Isolina; gourmet burgers by Javier Miyasato at Burger Boy; and barbecue chicken from Mitsuharu Tsumura at TORI.

Cyril Letocart, CEO of Lagardère Travel Retail Peru said: “Nación Sazón is a true gastronomic hub that brings Peru’s unique cuisine to the world. We have put our heart and soul into this and are very proud of the results.” Referring to the project as a whole, he added: “We have built what we believe is Latin America’s new benchmark for travel retail and airport dining.”

The departure retail space features El Mixólogo, a cocktail and tapas bar where passengers can also purchase local labels to take home. Lagardère has also added a VIP room in the main duty-free shop to serve high spenders. The store design pays tribute to Peru’s landscapes from the coasts and highlands to the Amazonian forests and Andes mountains.

Lagardère Travel Retail is making a big investment in Lima. It launched there in 2021 with 80 employees, but this latest expansion will grow that number to over 750 by this summer. In terms of international passengers, the retailer could well be serving a large number of Spaniards and Americans. Among the strongest recoveries last year (versus 2019) were from Madrid (up 133%) and Miami (up 137%). The two destinations accounted for 19% of international traffic.

Tequila’s home town

Further north in Mexico, Avolta’s new five-year contract at Guadalajara Airport—at the heart of the country’s main tequila producing region—will enable the retailer to fully renovate its three existing stores and open two new ones. Mexico is a big market for the airport retailer; with more than 80 stores across Mexico City, Cancun, Monterrey as well as Guadalajara.

Guadalajara is the third busiest airport in the country and is operated by Grupo Aeroportuario del Pacífico (GAP). It processed almost 18 million passengers last year. The gateway continued to grow, unlike its larger counterparts, Mexico City and Cancun, where traffic fell by about 6%.

Susana Romero, commercial director at GAP, described Avolta as one of the most important stakeholders in Guadalajara Airport, and added: “As part of our effort to maximize revenue from commercial activities and meet passenger expectations, GAP expanded and redesigned the airport terminal to accommodate more general specialty retail, duty-free shopping and F&B. The passenger flow was also redirected to increasing exposure to the new commercial areas.”