SINGAPORE. The Asia Pacific Travel Retail Association (APTRA) is to host the APTRA Exchange at the upcoming Tax Free World Association (TFWA) live event, announced yesterday.
The APTRA Exchange will be held on 10 May from 4-6pm at the Marina Bay Sands in Singapore.
The announcement follows TFWA’s recent decision to cancel the TFWA Asia Pacific Exhibition and Conference and instead host a ‘live networking event’ on 10-11 May in the city. It will feature a conference and workshops at the Marina Bay Sands Expo & Convention Centre, along with the opportunity to arrange in-person meetings.
TFWA decided to change the format for its in-person TFWA Asia Pacific Exhibition, which was originally scheduled to take place on 9-12 May. With stricter health and safety measures implemented in many countries across the region following the advance of the Omicron variant, TFWA said it became clear that a live exhibition “would not be able to provide the desired level of benefit and support to the industry”.
The APTRA Exchange will focus on knowledge sharing on important topics pertaining to Asia Pacific travel retail. It will be moderated by TFWA Managing Director John Rimmer, with more details to be announced in coming days.
“We understand how difficult it has been for TFWA to cancel the exhibition, given the situation in Hong Kong and Mainland China and the knock-on effect on international travel,” commented APTRA President Sunil Tuli.
“However, we are delighted to announce that, with the support of TFWA, we will host the APTRA Exchange on 10 May, during the TFWA programme. APTRA is committed to providing valuable insights, knowledge-sharing and networking opportunities for our members and the wider industry across the wider APAC region. This is a well overdue and eagerly anticipated opportunity for people to come together and do business at its best, in person.”
