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INTERNATIONAL. The 30th TFWA World Exhibition & Conference will be staged from 26 to 31 October 2014 in the Palais des Festivals et des Congrès in Cannes on the French Riviera.
The annual duty free and travel retail global summit will kick off with a conference address by former US Secretary of State Colin Powell.
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Former US Secretary of State Colin Powell will address issues related to leadership in challenging times |
General Colin L Powell, USA (Ret.), 35-year veteran of the U.S. Army, former Secretary of State and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, will be the keynote speaker at the opening Conference on Monday 27 October. As reported, he will address issues related to leadership in challenging times, among other subjects.
Joining him on stage will be Luxottica Chief Executive Officer Andrea Guerra, who will draw on his wealth of experience in an ever-changing global business environment.
TFWA President Erik Juul-Mortensen will open the conference with his state of the industry address in which he will set the scene by summarising three decades of development of the duty free and travel retail industry, reviewing the last year in more detail and looking forward to opportunities and challenges in the months and years to come.
Two workshop sessions will follow on Tuesday and Wednesday mornings: the first a Market Watch session focusing on Latin America and the second devoted to the inflight retail sector. Both will feature industry leaders and experts in the field.
“TFWA is delighted to welcome keynote speakers of such calibre to our stage in this our anniversary year,” said TFWA Vice-President Thom Rankin. “TFWA World Exhibition & Conference is a highly-valued annual summit for the duty free and travel retail industry, a business which generates revenues of some US$60 billion each year and which contributes significantly to travel, tourism, transport infrastructure and employment worldwide.
“Over the last 30 years we have hosted some extraordinary speakers at our conferences from political leaders to campaigning pop stars, from far-sighted visionaries to eminent industrialists. Once again, we anticipate a morning of stimulating presentations and debate – plus some celebrations to mark our 30th birthday.”
In 2013, more than 6,300 trade delegates attended the event, over two-thirds of them key buyers from airports, airlines, ferries, cruise ships and downtown duty free shops all over the world.
The exhibition features up to 500 companies from some 40 different countries which will be displaying upwards of 3,000 premium products.
TFWA World Exhibition & Conference 2014 will be “an extra-special event”, according to TFWA, with celebrations to mark the 30th anniversary of the organisation’s founding in 1984, which led to the first event organised “by the industry for the industry” in Nice in October 1985.
For pre-registration and further details of TFWA World Exhibition & Conference 2014 visit www.tfwa.com.
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Luxottica Chief Executive Officer Andrea Guerra will draw on his experience in an ever-changing global business environment |
