TFWA World Exhibition & Conference Workshop programme

This year’s TFWA Airport Forum explored the work being done to safeguard the future of non-aeronautical revenues as our industry continues its recovery. The session focused on the findings of the Airports Council International’s ANARA (Airports Non-Aeronautical Revenues and Activities) working group, which brought industry stakeholders together to exchange experience and intelligence on best practice in commercial activities at airports. Delegates heard from members of the ANARA group on their recommendations to ensure an equitable and durable business model.

The workshop also presented a new report commissioned by TFWA and conducted by leading global consultant Kearney, on ways to ensure that the duty free & travel retail sector remains an attractive investment opportunity for brands and retailers.

Speakers at the TFWA Airport Forum included Fraport Twin Star Head of Commercial and ANARA coordinator Svetlana Simeonova, Dufry CEO Southern Europe Isabel Zarza, London Heathrow Airport Retail Director Fraser Brown, and Kearney Managing Partner and Chairman Alex Liu.  

The TFWA Airport Forum was held on Tuesday at 8am – immediately before the opening of the TFWA World Exhibition – at the Hotel Majestic, opposite the Palais des Festivals. The session was moderated by TFWA Managing Director John Rimmer.

The workshop was open to all delegates at TFWA World Exhibition & Conference.

Illicit trade, counterfeiting and intellectual property theft cause substantial societal harm, and cost the global duty- and tax-free industry our industry significant lost sales every year. These criminal activities impact legitimate businesses, including the duty free & travel retail industry which operates within one of the most tightly controlled and transparent supply chains in the world. Our industry also suffers reputational harm when illicit goods are fraudulently mislabelled as ‘duty free’, which is now a global problem for many of the products we sell.

One of the most immediate threats facing our industry is to the tobacco category. In November 2023, the signatories to the World Health Organisation’s Illicit Trade Protocol will meet in Panama. Among the topics for discussion at the third Meeting of the Parties will be the launch of the WHO’s research study to explore “the extent to which” the duty free industry contributes to illicit trade. Industry leaders fear that the conclusion to this report has been pre-ordained.

This important workshop explained the aims of the Duty Free: Trusted, Transparent, Secure campaign, which has gained the support of several of the industry’s leading retailers and brands, why action is essential, and how delegates in Cannes could lend their support.

Speakers at the workshop, which was on Wednesday at 8am at the Hotel Majestic, included Duty Free World Council President Sarah Branquinho, Aer Rianta International Chief Operations and Business Development Officer Nuno Amaral, Qatar Duty Free Senior Vice President Thabet Musleh , Lagardère Travel Retail Chief Business Officer Lucio Rossetto and Dubai Duty Free Senior Vice President - Retail Michael Schmidt. The session was moderated by TFWA Managing Director John Rimmer.

The workshop was open to all delegates at TFWA World Exhibition & Conference.