MEADFA WEBINAR OUTLINES AN OPTIMISTIC THE FUTURE OF THE TRAVEL RETAIL SUPPLY CHAIN

March 09 2022, 12:08 PM

9 March 2022: Today, the Middle East and Africa Duty Free Association (MEADFA) hosted its first webinar of 2022, where a discussion on the future of travel retail took place.

Speakers from across the travel retail value chain gave their perspectives on the challenges and opportunities facing the industry as it builds back from the Covid-19 crisis that wreaked havoc for the last 2 years.

The event was moderated by John Hume, a well-known figure in the duty free space, and managing partner of Hume Brophy. With over 200 participants, it was considered a resounding success.

Participants were presented the latest trends and perspectives from duty free supply chain in Africa and the Middle East from Anna Marchesini (M1nd-set). Roger Jackson (SEVA) then gave his insights on the future of the travel retail supply chain from a distributor point of view. Richard Gray (ARI Middle East) outlined the various supply chain threats and opportunities facing the sector.

Speaking after the event, MEADFA President Sherif Toulan said: “I am delighted with the turnout we had for this first webinar for 2022. The success of the various MEADFA events has shown that our industry is keen to regain its strong performance and profitability. It clearly demonstrates the interest and importance the travel retail sector has in the context of the recovery from the global Covid-19 pandemic.

As we build back from the pandemic, we have seen consistent growth of international passengers in the region throughout 2021, to slowly approach Q1 2020 levels. This has been seen in key countries such as UAE, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Egypt and Morocco. Indeed, so far this year we have seen a sharp increase of Duty Free exclusive purchases amongst international travellers across the Middle East & Africa, up 59%.

Today’s webinar served to reinforce the enthusiasm in our industry as we continue to recovery throughout 2022.

Also speaking after the event, Chair of the MEADFA Advocacy Committee Richard Gray said: “Today we saw some truly insightful perspectives shared from and to the entire travel retail value chain, and we all now have a greater understanding of the challenges we face. Only together can we rise to meet these challenges. But after seeing the strong support and commitment earlier today, I am confident our industry can and will adapt to these challenges and build back better because of it”

For more information on MEADFA membership visit MEADFA website www.meadfa.com or contact Ms. Micheline El Ammar Enkiri on info@meadfa.com

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