The TFWA, the international trade fair for the duty free industry, closed its doors after four successful days. The most important players in the travel retail industry were able to meet for constructive exchanges and collaborations.
The duty free sector was hit hard by the health crisis, but was able to recover, as shown by the results of the 37th edition of the TFWA World Exhibition & Conference. The event welcomed a total of 5,983 visitors, up 77% from 3,373 in 2021. The 2022 results are close to the pre-pandemic levels of the 2019 edition, which welcomed 7,215 visitors.
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Among the visitors were 2,095 representatives of operators and duty free owners, more than double last year’s total, but still 12% down on 2019.
1,179 delegates attended the TFWA World Conference on Monday 3 October, which was launched by TFWA President Erik Juul-Mortensen, who was joined on stage by a selection of speakers from within and outside the industry. 177 delegates attended the Airport Forum workshop, sponsored by Kering Eyewear, on Tuesday 4 October, while 123 attended the Innovation in Action workshop on Wednesday 5 October.
This year’s exhibition occupied a total of 20,751 m2, compared to 12,190 m2 in 2021. This was due to the fact that many brands opted for larger stands. A total of 387 companies exhibited, of which 57 were new exhibitors. The latter came from eight sectors and from countries such as Ghana, Saudi Arabia and the Republic of Korea.
“In this, the 75th anniversary of the duty free industry, we’re very happy with the outcome here this week, in terms of exhibitors, square metres of stand space, delegates and buyers in attendance. A real mood of confidence has been confirmed by the conversations taking place around the event all week. We look forward to the future with confidence and by the time we are back here in Cannes next year I’m convinced we will be flying at full height once again. We closed our books today, and thanks to our prudence in the past, our finances are in a strong position. We are well placed to continue supporting the industry going forward to next year and beyond.”, explains Erik Juul-Mortensen, TFWA President.
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Featured photos : © Press
