SINGAPORE. Tax Free World Association (TFWA) has announced that the Rt Hon Mike Moore, former Prime Minister of New Zealand and ex-Director-General of the World Trade Organisation, will be the keynote speaker at the TFWA Asia Pacific Conference on 16 May 2006.
In a speech titled “˜When Asia Roars’, the politician will study the impact of Asia on world trade and specifically the increasing importance of China. Moore’s term at the WTO coincided with momentous changes in the global economy, including the accession to the WTO of China.
The TFWA Asia Pacific Conference, sponsored by P&G Prestige Products, will open at 9am in the Singapore Suntec Centre with a welcome from TFWA CEO Andrew Ford.
TFWA President Erik Juul-Mortensen will present his “˜State of the Travel Retail Industry’ address focusing on the effects in the Asia Pacific region of the surge in outbound travel from China, India, Russia and the Middle East.
The plenary session will be followed by a choice of three workshops:
Workshop 1: Targeting the Indian Travel Market
John Koldowski, Director of the Strategic Intelligence Centre for PATA, will analyse the boom in outbound travel from India: liberalisation of aviation, low-cost carriers, a growing middle class and its growing affluence. ACNielsen India’s Managing Director will present ground-breaking data on the Indian traveller’s spending and shopping from the new TFWA-ACNielsen Indian Traveller Study.
Workshop 2: Branding in China
One year on from TFWA’s landmark study of Chinese traveller spending, ACNielsen China Managing Director Glen Murphy will draw on fresh research to establish how luxury brands and travel retailers capture today’s Chinese traveller. Speakers will present case studies of domestic market success stories, compare Chinese domestic purchasing and travel purchasing, and examine under-developed brands in travel retail.
Workshop 3: Seizing Opportunity in Asia’s Emerging Markets
Examining the challenges and potential of emerging markets Vietnam and Thailand, three retail specialists will present their case studies about the challenges and opportunities for retailers in the travel retail channels of these markets.
For the first time this year, a workshop aimed specifically at retailers entitled “˜Retail: the Latest and Best Ideas that Work’ will be hosted by TFWA early on 18 May. Top retail specialists will focus on the fundamentals of running successful travel retail shops, and suggest new ideas to increase store sales and improve management.
To coincide with the TFWA Asia Pacific Conference and Exhibition (16-19 May), delegates will also be able to attend the Gate One conference on airport commercial revenues which takes place on 15 May between 9am and 6pm with Gate One business meetings on Tuesday afternoon and a Gate One breakfast workshop on 17 May.
Online pre-registration for TFWA Asia Pacific Conference and Exhibition, offering savings on the normal onsite registration fees, will be open from 7 March to 21 April on www.tfwa.com
