MEADFA CONFERENCE TO REVEAL STRATEGIES FOR SUCCESS IN TRAVEL RETAIL IN MIDDLE EAST AND AFRICA DURING TURBULENT TIMES

The role of retail in new airport infrastructure will be a key focus of the 12^th annual conference of the Middle East & Africa Duty Free Association, which will take place at the Ritz Carlton Hotel in Doha, Qatar on 25^th and 26^th November 2013.

As the Association embraces Africa officially, the conference will also enable delegates to learn more about the African consumer, whose importance to global travel retail is set to grow.

Opening keynote speaker Akbar Al Baker, Chief Executive Officer Qatar Airways will explain how the new Hamad International Airport will help realise the fast-growing airline’s ambitions to establish Doha as a global hub.

He will then join a panel of CEOs including Paul Griffiths of Dubai Airports and Kjeld Binger of Queen Alia International Airport in Jordan to discuss how commercial objectives are increasingly central to airport infrastructure planning in the region.

In a session entitled ‘Embracing Africa’, George Uriesi, Managing Director, Federal Airports Authority Nigeria, one of Africa’s largest airport groups, will lead a panel discussion focusing on the African consumer, which will draw on key findings of a recent report into this dynamic and growing market.

With the travel market in North Africa still severely affected by the repercussions of the ‘Arab Spring’, Sherif Toulan, Director, International Duty Free and Trading Agencies and Joachim von Winning, Chief Commercial Officer of Cairo Airport will illustrate how Egypt’s leading travel retail companies are adapting to a ‘new normal’’.

In ‘Coping with change’, Philip Eckles, CEO, Aer Rianta International - Middle East and other leading retailers will analyse how hub airports in the Eastern Mediterranean, the Middle East as well as North Africa are faring during this period of economic and political upheaval.

And as Dubai Duty Free prepares to celebrate its 30^th anniversary, the retailer’s Executive Vice Chairman Colm McLoughlin will look to its future, as the pace of retail development at Dubai International Airport steps up further still.

In a change to the customary format, participants at the MEADFA Conference this year will be offered the choice of two workshops during Day One of the event, to enable them to delve deeper into subjects relevant to their business. Workshop A will focus on ‘Making airports special: surprising the traveller’ led by a panel of retailers and brands including Emirates Leisure Retail CEO Andrew Day and Qatar Duty Free Senior Vice President Keith Hunter.

Workshop B will look at ‘Innovation inflight’, featuring contributions from Emirates Airline Vice President Retail Services John Sime, Kenya Airways’ Emmy Letting and Montblanc General Manager Travel Retail Frank Passmann. .

A session on “social media in action” will allow delegates to hear case studies from two travel retail companies with real expertise and experience in engaging the traveller in new ways: Changi Airport Group and SSP.

Providing an update on the key advocacy and regulatory issues facing the industry in the Middle East, Africa and beyond will be MEADFA President Sean Staunton and European Travel Retail Confederation President Sarah Branquinho.

The closing keynote speaker, Jose Maria Palencia, CEO, World Duty Free Group is well placed to provide inspiring testimony on how success can be achieved in airport retail. He will address the company’s recent openings in Jordan as well as its long-awaited debut in Saudi Arabia, a market whose potential remains as yet untapped.

MEADFA President Sean Staunton commented: “Through our annual Conference, MEADFA has always tried to combine great content with ample networking opportunities, and this year will be no different. We’re delighted with the quality of our speaker line-up and we’re confident this will be another memorable event.

“The pace of change in the Middle East never slows, and when you add to that the growing importance of travelling consumers from Africa, we have a lot of ground to cover. We look forward to welcoming all those with an interest in our region to Doha for what will be a great event.”

The 2013 MEADFA Conference will be moderated by Dermot Davitt, Vice Chairman and Editorial Director, The Moodie Report and Michael Barrett, Executive Officer, Asia Pacific Travel Retail Association.

The event’s official media partners are The Moodie Report, Travel Retail & Duty Free Markets, Duty Free News International, Frontier, Frontier Brands, Travel Retail Business, Gulf Africa Magazine and The Decision Makers.

Qatar Airways has been named official airline of the 2013 MEADFA Conference and will offer preferential rates for delegates attending the event, including discounts of up to 15%. Please click here to make your flight booking: URL:qatarairways.com/meadfa2013, quoting the promo code DOHMEADFA13.

The Gala Dinner will be sponsored by Qatar Duty Free while Dufry Sharjah will sponsor the Welcome Cocktail. Imperial Tobacco has continued its support of the MEADFA Conference by sponsoring the Smoking Lounge. Dubai Duty Free and AirStyle Travel Retail are confirmed as Platinum Sponsors.

Registration for the Conference, which is managed by TFWA on behalf of MEADFA, will open in early September at www.tfwa.com with special rates for members of both Associations.

For any enquiries with regard to sponsorship opportunities, please contact Micheline Enkiri at the MEADFA office at medfa@eim.ae.

Ends