TFWA Asia Pacific 2013 breaks all records despite last minute venue change

“Not with standing the enforced last minute move to the Marina Bay Sands Expo Center, TFWA Asia Pacific Conference and Exhibition 2013 has been easily one of the best events to date with records broken all round and high levels of satisfaction. For TFWA this is an excellent result and we are delighted,” said Erik Juul-Mortensen, President TFWA, commenting on the last day of this year's Singapore based event.
   
The four-day Conference and Exhibition, held from May 13th to 16th, broke records for exhibition space, exhibitors and visitor numbers – a true testament to the ongoing importance of duty free and travel retail in the Asia Pacific region.

A total of 2,452 visitors, up 13% from last year, visited the show, representing 1,004 companies (+9%) including 832 executives from duty free & travel retail operators – the key buyers and landlords. This represented a +14% increase on 2012. 

Visitors were treated to a wide range of international and local brands from 253 exhibiting companies (up 6.8%), of which 74 were new or returning and included names such as Hugo Boss, Clarins, Paul & Shark, Haribo, L'Oreal Luxe, National Geographic, Red Bull Eyewear, Troika and Breo. In total they covered an impressive 8,100 sq m of exhibition space +17.7% up on last year.

As has been well documented, the event was moved to the Marina Bay Sands as the usual Suntec Centre, under renovation, was not ready in time. Juul-Mortensen continued, “I wish to pay tribute to all the participants at TFWA Asia Pacific Conference & Exhibition for the way in which they responded to the last minute change of venue. Our partners pulled out all the stops to ensure that we were able to stage an exhibition and conference event of the usual high standard; the exhibitors were very understanding and worked with us to resolve any issues related to their stands; the visitors adjusted their plans to suit the new venue where necessary; and my colleagues on the TFWA team have made a tremendous effort to produce a successful show.”

Indeed it was 'business as usual' with a very positive and busy atmosphere throughout the week; busy aisles; impressive stands – including three double-deckers from William Grant & Sons, Imperial Tobacco and JTI; and a packed ONE2ONE pre-arranged meetings service which facilitated meetings between airports, airlines, suppliers and other companies using a dedicated suite of meeting rooms.

More than 300 meetings were booked with 30 airports and 23 airlines, particularly important for new companies entering the channel.

As usual the week commenced with the opening Conference, which this year took the theme 'Striving for Perfection'. Some 714 people attended the opening plenary (+26%)  where the highlight was undoubtedly Dr Mahathir bin Mohamad, Former Prime Minister of Malaysia with a very engaging and often humorous presentation.

The keynote speakers, who gave fascinating presentations, also included Gilbert Ghostine, President Asia Pacific Diageo, Dr Fan Gang, Director China National Economic Research Institute & Chairman China Reform Foundation, Sunil Tuli, President APTRA, and Erik Juul-Mortensen, TFWA President.

Four workshops took place during the day, attended by a total of more than 1,000 delegates, with speakers from all sides of the industry taking part. They covered Perfect Journey (improving the retail offer), Perfect Pitch (the importance of partnerships), e-Perfect (the growing role of digital and social media) and Perfection Personified (customer understanding and service).

The closing plenary saw Counter Intelligence Retail Managing Director Garry Stasiulevicuis and KPMG Principal Business Development Anson Bailey discuss the findings of research on the non-shopper and Chinese luxury consumers.

The change of venue did not affect the social networking programme, which once again kicked off with a sold-out Golf Tournament in Sentosa sponsored by InterParfums. 633 people attended the Welcoming Cocktail in Raffles, 398 chilled out at the Mandarin Oriental poolside and 501 attended the Singapore Swing Party at The Alkaff Mansion, despite the persistent rain.

Technological services at the event, such as interactive navigation screens, free wi-fi, event apps for iPhone and Blackberry users, an online TFWA Product Showcase and a live homepage on tfwa.com, were all much appreciated.

TFWA is conducting a full survey of both visitors and exhibitors to gain feedback on the event and future venue options. The results will be taken into full consideration and the venue and date for TFWA Asia Pacific Conference & Exhibition 2014 will be announced before the end of June.

Sourced: TravelDailyNews