A panel of industry leaders from the Indian sub continent helped to shed light on the reality of airport retail in the market and looked at the prospects for all stakeholders in the near future and longer term.

Following the recent earthquake, tsunami and nuclear disasters in Japan, a panel of experts in Japanese tourism, aviation, duty free and luxury brands provided an exploration of prospects for both the Japanese duty free business and a study of Japanese travelling consumers.

The lunch session focussed on the most pressing concerns and threats to the industry, both globally and in the Asia Pacific region. Speakers discussed collaborative solutions to the issues and emphasised the importance of concerted advocacy, and a better understanding of the market to underpin lobbying efforts.

The Chinese luxury and duty free markets were examined in detail in this session, which looked at progress to date and anticipated growth in the country and examined factors which will influence its future direction.

Brand, retail and airport executives examined examples of partnership in the Asia Pacific duty free and travel retail industry, and explored how the business can benefir from closer and more mutually beneficial relationships in the future.