IRELAND. The newly created Irish Duty Free Alliance (IDFA) is to hold its inaugural meeting on Friday 13 October at Dublin Airport’s Hilton Hotel. The IDFA’s members represent most sectors of the Irish travel retail business, including airports, airlines and ferry operators, brand owners and suppliers across range of brands.
The alliance was established with one clear objective – to ensure the reintroduction of duty and tax free sales on routes to and from the UK, once it leaves the EU on March 30 2019. The alliance said it was “acutely aware of the large-scale opportunity for the Irish travel retail sector if the re-establishment of duty free between the UK and EU goes ahead”.
The meeting on 13 October will seek to agree on a national policy strategy focused on gaining support across the different political sectors in Ireland, and to ensure there is government support for the reintroduction of duty free, when the Brexit trade negotiations get underway.
The initiative has been established by Aer Rianta International (ARI) and is part of the overall strategic campaign spearheaded by ETRC (European Travel and Retail Confederation). It will seek to complement the wider pan-European strategy on this issue, and the work being done by the industry in the UK to inform and encourage the UK government that duty and tax free sales should return immediately once Brexit takes place in March 2019.
Those organisations interested in attending the meeting should contact the IDFA in advance to secure a place. To register your interest, please email: karin.oconor@humebrophy.com.
