Global travel retail spirits and wine volumes rose 5% in 2025, IWSR says

Global travel retail continued to outperform many domestic alcohol markets in 2025, but growth was uneven across regions and categories as consumers shifted spending within spirits and wine, according to new IWSR data published Monday.

The research group said combined spirits and wine volumes in global travel retail, including duty-free channels, rose 5% in 2025. Within that, spirits volumes increased 6% and spirits value rose 7%, while wine volumes grew 2% and wine value increased 5%.

The gains were broad on paper. IWSR said all four regions it tracks posted value growth last year. Europe and Africa and the Middle East each rose 11% in value, followed by the Americas at 7% and Asia-Pacific at 2%. But the headline numbers concealed sharp regional differences. IWSR described spirits performance in Asia-Pacific as weak overall, even as India continued to grow strongly. It also pointed to a split within the Americas, with Latin America performing well and North America softer.

Whisky was the main engine of growth in travel retail spirits during 2025. IWSR said whisky value rose 12% overall, led by strong performances across several segments. Scotch whisky and American whiskey each recorded 10% value growth, while Irish whiskey rose 11%. Japanese whisky stood out most sharply, with value up 44% and volumes up 37%.

Agave-based spirits were another major winner. IWSR said volumes increased 10%, while value climbed 28%, suggesting consumers continued to move toward higher-priced products in the category. The data indicates that agave remains one of the strongest premiumization stories in travel retail, at a time when airport and duty-free operators are looking for categories that can support both volume and margin growth.

Vodka also gained ground. IWSR said vodka volumes rose 7%, helped by demand for flavored products and by consumers switching from gin in core European markets. Value growth for vodka reached double digits, though IWSR did not provide a single percentage figure for the category’s value increase in the data released Monday.

That shift came at the expense of some established segments. Rum volumes fell 6% in 2025, although the category still posted value growth, which IWSR said pointed to consumers trading up within rum rather than leaving the category entirely. Gin volumes were broadly flat, but value rose 7%, with local and craft brands performing well in markets including the Nordic countries, the United Kingdom and parts of Asia-Pacific.

Cognac and brandy had a much weaker year. IWSR said volumes fell 6% and value declined 8%, making them among the poorest-performing spirits categories in travel retail. Charlotte Reid, senior insights manager for global travel retail at IWSR, said traditional spirits categories are being challenged by fast changes in consumer preferences. She said Japanese whisky and agave spirits surged, while Cognac recorded one of its steepest declines in decades. She also said flavored gin lost momentum as consumers moved toward vodka and ready-to-drink products.

Wine posted a positive year overall, though its growth pattern was also uneven. Still wine was the main driver of category expansion, helping push total wine volumes up 2% and value up 5%. Light aperitifs were the standout subcategory, with volumes increasing 16% and value rising 25%.

Sparkling wine showed more mixed results. Champagne volumes declined, but value still increased, indicating resilience at higher price points. Prosecco moved in the opposite direction, with both volume and value falling. IWSR said the category showed signs of “Prosecco fatigue,” a sign that some travelers may be moving away from products that had been strong performers in recent years.

The category changes matter beyond the airport channel because they may shape how drinks groups and distributors plan portfolios, promotions and shelf allocation for travel retail over the next several years. With agave, whisky and vodka gaining share, and rum showing signs of premium trading-up despite lower volumes, buying and assortment decisions in duty-free could shift further toward those segments. That could affect how producers of spirits, wine and other beverage alcohol products prioritize launches, pack formats and regional inventory through 2027.

IWSR said the longer-term picture still favors some of the same categories that led in 2025. For spirits, it expects Scotch whisky to remain the largest growth opportunity through 2030, while Japanese and Irish whiskies are projected to lead in momentum. For wine, future value growth is expected to be anchored by still wine and Champagne, with smaller gains for fortified wine and other sparkling wine. Prosecco is expected to remain under pressure and could post a slight decline through 2030. Light aperitifs are forecast to remain the fastest-growing wine-related subcategory.

Even with that growth potential, the research group said the near-term outlook for 2025 through 2027 is being held back by risks tied to the conflict in the Middle East. IWSR said airspace closures, flight disruptions, higher fuel costs and broader cost-of-living pressure are all weighing on the sector. Travel retail depends heavily on international passenger traffic, and those disruptions can quickly affect both store traffic and product mix.

Africa and the Middle East are expected to face the sharpest impact. IWSR said the region could see a single-year volume decline as deep as 22%, with recovery unlikely before 2028. The Americas and Asia-Pacific are seen as less exposed, but not immune. Europe is also highly vulnerable to disruption linked to the Middle East because of air routes and travel flows, and IWSR expects its recovery to be the slowest among the major regions in the years ahead.