ASIA PACIFIC. The Asia Pacific Travel Retail Association (APTRA) is to extend its services to airports by launching a series of Airport Forums and an online Resource Centre.
The Airport Forums, timed to coincide with existing industry events, aim to give airport executives the chance to gain insights into current trends and regulatory issues, and to exchange ideas with their counterparts at airports across the region.
The Resource Centre will be an airport access-only section of the APTRA website that contains brand and retailer data, marketing activities, retail executions and research reports. APTRA claimed it will help landlords to benchmark and improve the way they operate travel retail in their airport.
Speaking today at the TFWA China’s Century Conference in Guangzhou, APTRA President Jaya Singh said: “Although some airports belong to a national or regional group which provides them with benchmarks, many operate in isolation, without comparative data, oblivious to impending policy changes which will impact their businesses.
“We believe that airport management teams will benefit from a forum where they can congregate and exchange ideas freely, without the distraction of brands and retailers, and a dedicated bank of airport-specific information.”
The first APTRA Airports Forum, hosted by Changi Airport Group, will be on the afternoon of Sunday 7 May, just before the opening of the TFWA Asia Pacific Exhibition & Conference.
The APTRA Airports Resource Centre is due to go live later this year and, in time, APTRA intends to supplement the information available with airport-specific research reports.
Singh concluded: “We intend to improve radically the service which APTRA offers to its airport colleagues. We value enormously the input of these ‘honorary ambassadors’ when we are preparing a defence of our industry, as their testimony is authoritative and highly respected by the regulatory authorities.”
