USA. The best of North America, the best of the world. The 2019 Airport Food & Beverage (FAB) Conference, Exhibition & Awards, which will take place in Dallas on 26-27 June, will feature a powerful line-up of industry leaders from around the globe. Among the international airports represented will be DXB (Dubai International), Hong Kong International and London Gatwick, as a compelling programme takes shape.
Dubai Airports Executive Vice President – Commercial Eugene Barry will feature in a special session early in the programme, when he will share DXB’s consumer-centric vision of the future. Hong Kong International Airport General Manager Retail & Advertising Alby Tsang will speak about the F&B strategy of one of Asia’s most commercially progressive hubs, which is currently implementing a hugely ambitious overhaul of its F&B offer.
Other distinguished airport speakers include Gatwick Airport Head of Retail Rachel Bulford and Great Hall Partners, Ferrovial Airports CEO Ignacio Castejón.
They will be joined by a host of top airport executives, including Vancouver Airport Authority Director, Commercial Services – Terminals Mirela Rusu; Vantage Airport Group (Chicago) Management – Midway Partnership CEO,Sammy Patel; and, from the host airport, Dallas Fort Worth Executive Vice President of Customer Experience and Revenue Management Kenneth Buchanan and Vice President Concessions Zenola Campbell.
Experienced airport commercial executive Dan Cappell, now a Director at aviation consultancy Leigh Fisher, will add his insights into the airport F&B business model.
They will be joined by several top names from the concession community (details to be announced next week), design experts, consumer insight specialists, restaurateurs and chefs.
The two-day conference will address the challenges, opportunities and issues facing travel F&B. The event will assess the rise of healthy and eco-friendly eating; the fusion of physical and digital to enhance the consumer experience; and the critical role of Sense of Place in design and cuisine. The programme will also feature specialists from the culinary world who will talk about global foodie trends.
Details of the full programme will be released on the FAB 2019 event website soon. Registrations can be made directly via the site – note that early bird rates for the conference are available until 21 April.
The 2019 FAB Awards are set to be hotly contested, with nominations pouring in since they were announced in January. Details of the awards categories are available on the event website here: airportfab.events/awards. The deadline for submitting nominations is Friday 5 April.
FAB, which is owned and organised by The Moodie Davitt Report, is the only event dedicated to the burgeoning airport food & beverage business. Since its launch in 2011, FAB has flourished and become the key global gathering for a constantly evolving sector, serving as a litmus test of its challenges, opportunities and quality aspirations.
