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PROGRAMME

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Explore the MEADFA Conference 2023 Program

DAY 1

19 November

14:00 - 18:00

Onsite Registration

19:30

Opening Cocktail

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DAY 2

20 November

8:30 - 9:00

Registration & Welcome Coffee

9:00 - 9:05

Welcome from the Moderators Michele Miranda and Dermot Davitt

Dermot Davitt

9:05 - 9:15

Welcome from MEADFA President

Sherif Toulan

9:15 - 9:30

Welcome from Official Hosts

9:30 - 10:15

African aviation in focus

Dina El Sherif

As the MEADFA Conference comes to West Africa for the first time, the opening session of the event will bring together some of the region’s leading airports and retailers at a time of optimism for Africa’s aviation and tourism industries. A panel of senior airport executives will discuss new developments in their respective locations, address the context for international travel in the region, and explore the importance of non-aeronautical revenues to African airports.

Delegates will hear from Pamela Djamson-Tettey, Managing Director, Ghana Airports, Dina El Sherif, Commercial Development Director, Egyptian Airports Co and Luis Marin, President and CEO Europe, Middle East and Africa, Avolta AG.

10:15 - 11:00

Rebuilding the model

Nico Reifkogel

The Covid-19 pandemic exposed the faultlines in the traditional business model for airport retail. As the sector recovers, more meaningful and efficient collaboration between airlines, airports and concessionaires is needed more than ever to create a more sustainable business model. This session will explore how the airport commercial model can be adapted to ensure a durable recovery for all stakeholders.

Featuring Abdeslam Azgoul, CEO Middle East & Africa, Avolta AG; Keith Hunter, Partner, Hunter Palmer Global Retail Solutions; and Nico Reifkogel, Director Business Development, Gebr. Heinemann.

11:00 - 11:45

Networking coffee break

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11:45 - 12:30

Stronger together

Robert Marriott

The 2023 MEADFA Conference is held at a critical time for our industry, as the signatories to the World Health Organization’s Illicit Trade Protocol meet in November in Panama (MOP 3). At that meeting, the WHO will formally begin research into “the extent to which” duty free sales contribute to illicit trade.

This important session of the MEADFA Conference will update delegates on the implications of MOP 3 for all categories in duty free & travel retail, along with the advocacy work being done by MEADFA and its fellow associations on their behalf. Rob Marriott, Chair of the MEADFA Advocacy Group, will open the session along with the group’s category leads Roger Jackson and Milika Kalyati, while Duty Free World Council President Sarah Branquinho will provide global context.

The session will be moderated by Antoine Clément of Penta, the Association’s key advisor on its advocacy projects.

12:30 - 13:30

Consumer insight: tracking the post-Covid MEA traveller

Christy Tawii

Supported by the latest travel and consumer data, this session will explore how today’s traveller in the Middle East and Africa has evolved since pre-pandemic days. What do changes in demographics and spending levels say about post-covid duty free shopping in the region?

Delegates will hear from travel retail research specialist Pi Insight, whose Managing Director Stephen Hillam will present findings from an exclusive study carried out for the MEADFA Conference. A perspective from the High Street will be provided by respected global market analyst Euromonitor, whose Research Manager for Sub-Saharan African Christy Tawii will present the latest data on consumer trends in the region.

To hear the brand perspective, the session will also feature JTI Worldwide Duty Free General Manager for the Middle East, Africa, UK & Ireland Philip Haine.

13:30

Networking Lunch

19:30

Gala Dinner

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DAY 3

21 November

9:00 - 9:05

Welcome from Moderators Michele Miranda and Dermot Davitt

Dermot Davitt

Welcome from moderators Michele Miranda and Dermot Davitt

9:05 - 9:45

Africa Rising

Roberta Annan

The opening keynote address on day 2 of the MEADFA Conference will focus on the factors that make the African continent so rich in potential. Award-winning business leader and sustainability champion, and the youngest African to be inducted into the African Leadership Hall of Fame, Roberta Annan is a fashion entrepreneur and the founder of the Africa Fashion Foundation (AFF), created to empower designers and brands in Africa. Born and based in Accra, she will share her insights on building brands in Africa and tapping into the potential of the continent’s consumer market.

9:45 - 10:15

View from Dubai

Ramesh Cidambi

As the retailer completes 40 years in business, Dubai Duty Free has consolidated its position as the world’s biggest travel retailer in a single location. In this session the company’s Chief Operating Officer Ramesh Cidambi will discuss the future for the US$2bn business, addressing changes to spending patterns and passenger profiles, and the retailer’s development plans at the Middle East’s leading hub for international travel.

10:15 - 11:00

Charting the recovery

Kojo Bentum-Williams

Having witnessed an encouraging recovery in 2022, the Middle East could see international travel return to pre-pandemic levels this year, according to the United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO). In Africa, tourism is still recovering but business travel is expected to boost traffic across the continent. This session will look at the latest traffic data and travel forecasts and understand trends & emerging destinations as well as challenges facing the travel industry.

Featuring Martina Bednarikova, Economist and Policy Analyst at leading global airline association IATA; this session will look at the latest traffic data and travel forecasts and understand trends & emerging destinations as well as challenges facing the travel industry.

11:00 - 11:45

Networking coffee break

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11:45 - 12:30

Focus on African shoppers

Clive Jones

Africa may be travel retail’s smallest region in terms of duty free sales, but its increasingly affluent travellers are among the highest-spending customers in some airports and on certain long-haul routes. In this session, delegates will hear from some of the companies with experience of catering to African shoppers, and of adapting to their brand and product preferences, motivations to purchase and attitudes towards local and international brands.

Featuring Tourvest Retail Services CEO Clive Jones and Lagardère Travel Retail CEO West Africa Sountou Bousso.

12:30 - 13:15

MEADFA & Sustainability: a progress report

Munif Mohammed

Last year in Bahrain, delegates at the MEADFA Conference heard a blueprint for creating a more sustainable and equitable travel retail industry in the Middle East & Africa. Since then, sustainability has risen up the agenda for every company in the travel ecosystem, and the issue’s importance to the end consumer cannot be overestimated.

In this session MEADFA’s Sustainability Lead, Dubai Duty Free Senior Vice President Bernard Creed and Lagardère Travel Retail CEO Saudi Arabia Munif Mohammed will update delegates on the progress made and the challenges ahead.

13:15 - 14:00

Innovation in action

Nicolas Bry

For travel retail to stay ahead of the changing wants and needs of today’s travellers, it is not just about making more effective use of technology, but about creating and nurturing a spirit of innovation. This session will explore how companies can collaborate more effectively to ensure they stay ahead of the game.

Delegates will hear from Orange Africa Innovation Booster Nicolas Bry, who has a wealth of experience helping companies in Africa to harness the region’s potential. The session will also hear case studies from travel retail companies aiming to bring fresh ideas to the market in the Middle East & Africa, including Beam Suntory Global Marketing Director Manuel Gonzalez.

14:00

Networking Lunch