 | |
SINGAPORE. Members of the Women in Travel (WiT) networking group raised S$5,000 (US$3,600) during the TFWA Asia Pacific show in aid of China Duty Free Group’s Hope Foundation, which aims to build schools in an area of China devastated by a recent earthquake.
The informal gathering was held on 12 May at the Lacoste exhibition stand, expertly hosted by Lacoste Travel Retail Director Catherine Bonelli and her colleague Melanie Boyer, with assistance from Tina Tam of La Prairie.
China Duty Free Group’s Sherry Zheng made an impassioned speech about the Chinese retailer’s Hope Foundation, which aims to raise funds for the victims of the 14 April earthquake in Quinghai, southwest China. The fund has already topped RMB200 million, she told The Moodie Report.
A well-attended raffle was held during the meeting, thanks to a myriad of prizes donated by the trade. All money raised went to the Hope Foundation’s school building project in Quinghai.
Despite a ruling that men were not invited to the meeting [with one exception made for the unstoppable Harry Diehl – Ed] men purchased a lot of tickets. The long list of male winners included Harry Diehl (of course), Sunil Tuli, Kay Spanger, Jean-Michel Bostroem, Andreas Fehr and first-time TFWA Singapore exhibitor Sergio Clavell of Spanish liquor firm Campeny.
Two fabulous bags donated by Bally and MCM were auctioned, making a significant contribution to the final total.
The WiTs enjoyed Champagne sponsored by Duty-Free News International, with flutes kindly supplied by ELI.
Commenting on the Singapore gathering and future plans, WiT co-founder Sarah Branquinho said: “It was great to meet some new WiTs. We’ll be contacting you all in a few weeks with some very ambitious plans for WiTs at TFWA World Exhibition in Cannes in October.”
About Women in Travel (WiT)
With nearly 300 members, Women in Travel (WiT) continues to grow its network of women in all categories and functions within the travel retail channel. The group aims to provide a forum to share learning and experience, and encourages the high standards of excellence that successful women can bring to business.
To donate please visit www.HandinHandforHaiti.com |
