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‘Tailwind and Turbulence’ will be the theme of the 2009 TFWA Asia Pacific and Gate One2One conference which will be staged in Singapore Suntec on Monday 11th May just prior to the region’s annual duty free and travel retail exhibition (12th–14th May).
Acknowledging the difficult trading environment faced by the industry, TFWA Asia Pacific and Gate One2One will celebrate the industry’s resilience and innovative spirit in harsh times, and offer all stakeholders an innovative learning experience and fruitful business networking opportunities.
Extra efforts have been made to ensure that major airports from the region and beyond will attend and the response from exhibitors has been enthusiastic with 165 across all categories confirmed to date.
The plenary Conference session and the four interactive workshops on 11th May will focus on issues pivotal to the industry’s future: the impact of recession on travel and tourism; consumer trends and behaviour; the effect on retail of an expanding affluent middle class in Asia; managing media in the airport environment to optimise revenues; the application of technology to produce customer focused marketing and retailing in the airport arena.
Erik Juul-Mortensen, TFWA President, who has been at the helm of the association for a decade and has witnessed the industry weather many storms, will assess the current state of the duty free and travel retail industry in his opening speech with particular reference to Asia Pacific.
Linda Yeuh, Global Economist, will chart the extent of the current turbulence and pinpoint areas where there may be opportunities to turn adversity to advantage in her plenary presentation “The impact of global events on Asia Pacific’s travel and tourism industry.”
After a coffee break, the delegates can choose workshop A or B and after lunch workshop C or D according to their specific interests:
A. ‘The power of knowledge – understanding everything there is to know about tomorrow’s travellers’ presented in partnership with APTRA;
B. ‘Managing media in the airport environment’ – maximising revenue from media space;
C. ‘Premium products retailing in Asia Pacific: Can the rising force of Asia’s growing middle class outweigh the impact of the economic crisis?’
D. ‘Revenue growth for airports through innovation and technology’.
Finally, after the workshops, a panel of aviation CEOs will relay first hand experience of how their businesses are affected by the economic turbulence and their strategies for survival and future growth.
Theodore is the Co-Founder and Managing Editor of TravelDailyNews Media Network; his responsibilities include business development and planning for TravelDailyNews long-term opportunities.
