INTERNATIONAL. The second Virtual Travel Retail Expo set to be held on 18-22 October has attracted positive early reaction with three major confirmed exhibitors – and several more set to confirm – and leading travel retailers expressing their support for the concept.
Philip Morris International (PMI) is returning again as a Platinum Partner, following a successful and compelling presence at last year’s event. It will again focus on its successful reduced-risk products (RRPs), led by IQOS. PMI is building its future on smoke-free products, based on a vision that these products will one day replace cigarettes.
PMI joins Qatar Duty Free as a returning partner. As reported, Qatar Duty Free has signed again as a Diamond Event Partner and will once more host The QDF Factor – a unique competition to incentivise innovation, offering a grand prize of a six-month listing with the acclaimed travel retailer in 2022 and a complimentary six-month US$50,000 advertising campaign with The Moodie Davitt Report. Full details soon.
Travel retailers too are indicating a real appetite for the virtual format. Lotte Duty Free, South Korea’s number-one travel retailer (and world number two) is to exhibit within the spectacular new Retailer Emporium. Lotte Duty Free CEO Kap Lee said, “We are delighted to support the return of the successful and innovative Virtual Travel Retail Expo. As well as exhibiting, we will be sending our buying, merchandising and management teams to visit the event and to meet as many exhibiting brands as possible.”
Antares Cheng, Founder, Chairman and Group Managing Director at King Power Group (Hong Kong) and Chief Merchandising Officer with King Power International Group in Thailand, said: “The Virtual Travel Retail Expo has the full support of King Power HK, Oriental King Power (Mainland China) and King Power International in Thailand. We wish for a very successful Expo.”
The Moodie Davitt Report has retained integrated creative agency FILTR.QINGWA as its Virtual Expo Stand and Experience Partner, supporting participants through the company’s operations in China, France, Singapore and the UK. FILTR.QINGWA will this year host a series of masterclasses with exhibitors to explain latest developments in the virtual platform and, crucially, to underline ways of maximising engagement with the trade worldwide.
[Click on the YouTube icon to view highlights from last year’s successful Virtual Travel Retail Expo]
The 2021 Virtual Travel Retail Expo will build on the success of the October 2020 event, with several breakthrough improvements planned around the areas of buyer-seller interaction, a streamlined conference programme and an enhanced platform for Chinese visitors.
Other key elements of the October event include:
- A unique Loyalty Scheme for returning exhibitors from 2020, who will receive a -10% discount on 2020 fees if they maintain the same stand tier as last year;
- -10% Early Bird incentive for new and returning exhibitors and sponsors booking by 1 May;
- A six-week ‘encore’ access for exhibitors and visitors at no additional cost;
- A dedicated Retailer Pavilion for airport, downtown, cruise, airline, rail and omnichannel retailers;
- An Experiential Arena, allowing companies which do not wish to exhibit, high-impact visibility opportunities;
- An enhanced Knowledge Hub programme over five days, featuring many of the sector’s key decision makers, disruptors and innovators;
- A strong CSR element, which will see one tree planted for each visitor via The Trinity Forest Project and other charitable causes supported;
- The addition of the long-established Airport Food & Beverage (FAB) Conference & Awards, making a return after one year’s absence due to the pandemic;
- The integration of The Moodies– travel retail and aviation’s only social and digital media awards and workshop – which becomes part of the programme, together with a dedicated digital, communications and advertising workshop. The Moodies this year will be extended to cover the whole travel ecosystem.
For more information about becoming an exhibitor or sponsor of the Virtual Travel Retail Expo 2021, please contact Irene Revilla, Publisher, The Moodie Davitt Report (Irene@moodiedavittreport.com) or Sarah Genest, Vice President Sales & Events (Sarah@MoodieDavittReport.com). For all enquiries concerning FAB, please contact Sarah Genest.
The inaugural Virtual Travel Retail Expo was the key trade event of the 2020 travel retail calendar, attracting over 4,370 unique visitors, who paid over 20,000 visits to the platform. 124 exhibition stands received more than 183,600 impressions and generated 179,700 content clicks. The conference and workshop agenda was packed with 42 sessions and received over 30,000 session views. Elsewhere in the event, the Experience Hub hosted 41 sessions, hosted by exhibitors themselves, with 9,140 views.
Moodie Davitt Report and FILTR.QINGWA delivered on their commitments to corporate social responsibility at the 2020 event. Proceeds funded 112 cleft operations through cleft charity The Smile Train; saw 4,250 trees planted via The Trinity Forest Project; and donated US$16,000 to ImpactHK, the 2020 designated charity year for Women in Travel Retail.
- SCENES FROM THE VIRTUAL TRAVEL RETAIL EXPO 2020
