APTRA confirms Avolta, Dubai Duty Free, Mondelez and Nestle as Gold partners
Several leading companies have confirmed their partnership with the Asia Pacific Travel Retail Association (APTRA) India 2024 conference in Delhi, March 20-21, 2024.
Having recently announced Delhi Duty Free Services as Platinum Host Partner, the list of partners has expanded with APTRA welcoming the first four Gold Partners as Avolta, Dubai Duty Free, Mondelez and Nestle, all confirmed as supporters of APTRA’s first major conference initiative. Agreements are also being finalized with several other partners, to be announced in the coming days.
APTRA President Sunil Tuli commented, “We are delighted by the support from so many organizations for the APTRA India 2024 Conference, sharing our belief in the unparalleled opportunity for travel retail in India.
“At its conference in October 2023, the Federation of Associations in India Tourism and Hospitality reported that the country’s tourism industry is set to deliver US$3trillion in GDP by 2047, with 100 million foreign tourist arrivals, 20 billion domestic tourism visits and more than 200 million direct and indirect tourism-driven jobs. The astonishing scale of India’s forecast growth in tourism is complemented by the ambition of the Indian government to deliver the supporting aviation infrastructure, creating a unique incentive for delegates to ensure that India is a priority in their business planning.”
The developing line-up of speakers includes several senior retail executives: Ashish Chopra, CEO of Delhi Duty Free Services; Ramesh Cidambi, Chief Operating Officer of Dubai Duty Free; Vijay Talwar, Chief Commercial Officer of Avolta and Sunil Tuli, CEO of King Power Group (Hong Kong) and APTRA President.
The conference program contains two major strands of strategic focus: The role for travel retail within India’s surging growth in aviation and the rise of the Indian consumer. Within each strand there will be detailed analysis of core product categories and the role of key industry dynamics including omnichannel and sustainability.
The first strategic focus explores in depth the prospects for travel retail within ‘Vision 2040’, the Indian government’s multi-faceted roadmap, including ambitions for aviation infrastructure investment and airport expansion to rival hubs in the GCC.
Surging aviation
APTRA believes there is an extraordinary opportunity for India to become a global leader in the next generation of travel retail. Four new airports and four new terminals have opened in the past year and there are now 149 operational civil airports, twice the number of 10 years ago. Added to that is the construction of nine greenfield airports, including Goa and Noida – the second airport for Delhi, located 75km from the capital. By 2040 the country expects to have 15 dual-airport cities and there is the potential for a third airport for Mumbai. According to IATA, India is the number 3 domestic aviation market by volume and is on track to be the third largest overall by 2026.
The rise of the Indian consumer
With a rising passion for international travel, the Indian consumer base presents one of the strongest long-term growth opportunities in travel retail globally. Home to over 910 million Millennials and Gen Z, there is also commercial opportunity with the diaspora of OCIs (a population of 6 million people with overseas citizenship of India). The Indian traveler demographic is surging in importance in other travel retail markets. From the developing middle classes choosing vacations in Thailand, Vietnam and Singapore to the blue collar workers travelling between the GCC and home, the combination of the rapidly evolving consumer profile and the country’s democratic dividend is a driving force in shaping travel retail.
The APTRA India 2024 conference will take place at the Pullman Hotel in Aerocity, Delhi preceded by an opening cocktail reception on the evening of March 19. Sponsorship and exhibition packages are available from Anne Kavanagh, Executive Director, APTRA by email: anne.kavanagh@aptra.asia
Registration is now open at US$600 per delegate. Preferential room rates at the Pullman Aerocity and Novotel Aerocity are available to delegates offering a 15% discount on standard rates. Both can be booked via Sharolyn Paul, Admin Officer, APTRA by email: sharolyn.paul@aptra.asia
