LIVE: Day one Summit of the Americas 2025 in Miami
IAADFS Chairman Rene Riedi delivering welcoming comments one day one of the 2025 Summit of the Americas
Sunday, March 9 at 9:00 a.m.: Welcoming Comments from Rene Riedi, Chair, IAADFS
This morning, IAADFS Chairman Rene Riedi welcomed attendees of this year's Summit of the Americas at the InterContinental Miami in Florida, United States (March 8-11). Providing strong numbers to the audience during his comments, he noted that global air traffic is growing at 8.3% and expected to surpass 4.3 billion passengers in 2025.
Known for its cultural diversity, Riedi called the change in location to Miami as the “perfect backdrop” to converse about our rapidly evolving industry. Described as being more convenient, it’s the first time the show has taken place here in more than 50 years.
This time around, we will be discussing political and economic realities including trade tensions and looking to answer the question: how will duty free and travel retail be impacted by the looming US tariffs and uncertainty of the Trump presidency?
John Price, Managing Director at Americas Market Intelligence
Sunday, March 9 at 9:30 a.m.: Keynote Address by John Price, Managing Director, Americas Market Intelligence
Following opening remarks, John Price, Managing Director at Americas Market Intelligence, took the stage. During his keynote address, Price delved into the political, economic and social trends in Latin America that drive the travel sector, particularly in line with the region’s affluent and mass-affluent travelers. In addition to a review of Latin America’s economic outlook over the next few years, the presentation examined longer-term trends that are expected to impact travel in the region.
2024 Latin America travel sector growth snapshots:
- Regional air travel grew 12.4%
- LAC cruise visits increased 17%
- Hotel capacity grew 5% (65,000 new rooms)
- Airbnb listings rose approximately 20% to 1.7 million listings
- Online travel spend reached $US62 billion (growing more than 20%)
- 38% of US based Latinos planned to visit the Latin America region
Key takeaways:
- Niche travel segments are on the rise including adventure & ecotourism, digital nomads, eco-friendly wellness and personalized & experience-based travel Argentina (where there is enormous opportunity to reenter the market due to the decision to remove currency controls) and Mexico serve as extreme examples within the diversified region; according to Price, the rest of the economy is growing at either a robust or moderate rate
- The biggest economies in the region when it comes to outbound international tourism spend are Brazil, Argentina, Mexico, Chile, Colombia, Peru and Ecuador, respectively, (these travelers are leaving the region at disproportionate levels)
- Despite economic challenges, mass-affluent numbers are growing robustly across Latin America in what Price calls a “sea of poverty with islands of tremendous wealth” (a high percentage of the most affluent from Mexico, Colombia and Argentina have emigrated)
- Two demographics to target: Zoomers & Boomers; Latin America is the fastest aging region in world and the elderly are now more financially independent than ever before having started the era of the individualist
- Social norms and household dynamics are changing, with legislation ahead of social thinking and the influence of religion on the decline
- Pro-investment politics have returned, which is required in line with infrastructure shortfalls and the regrowing of Latin America’s middle class post-COVID
Sunday, March 9 at 1:00 p.m.: Next Generation Growth: Charting the Future of the Cruise Sector
Moderated by DFNI Deputy Editor Chris Madden, this panel session featured insight from Anna Marchesini, Head of Business Development at m1nd-set; Nicola Hoeborn, Managing Director at Heinemann Americas; Benito Mendez, Senior Vice President of Merchandising and Planning at Starboard Group; and Catherine Restrepo, Founder & CEO at Syzygy Strategies.
m1nd-set shares cruise key trends:
- Strong intent to cruise continues among forever cruisers and potential of new cruisers. 82% of those who have cruised will cruise again and 71% of international travelers are considering taking their first cruise
- The growing number of first-time cruisers are opting for a holiday at sea; in the last two years 27% accounted for first-time travelers, which marks a 12% increase compared to the previous two-year period
- Younger generations are the future of cruise, especially Millennials; 81% of those who have cruised before plan to cruise again
- Solo cruise travel is on the rise, especially among Millennials and Gen Z; 8-10% of cruise travelers are cruising solo
- Alcohol (35%) is the most purchased category in cruise. Best-sellers also include perfumes (26%), Fashion and Accessories (25%), Jewelry & Watches (17%) and Souvenirs (11%)
Sunday, March 9 at 3:00 p.m.: Major Challenges and Unlimited Opportunities
Moderated by IAADFS’ Rene Riedi and described as a free-flowing discussion, this session welcomed two speakers to the stage: Matt Cornelius, Executive Vice President at Airports Council International – North America, and Rafael Echevarne, Director General at Airports Council International – Latin America and Caribbean.
According to the industry experts, airports remain the largest revenue source for travel retail and associated duty free sales throughout the Americas; however, it’s uncertain whether this growth curve is likely to continue. As discussed, sales revenue from all channels including retail, food and beverage and duty free are critical to airport growth.
According to Cornelius, North America has entered into a “more normal” growth pattern based on densification post-COVID and the revenge travel trend. Speaking on fundamental challenges and citing $US150 billion worth of need, he says that US airports are “tapped out”, in debt and struggling to meet the increasing demand of travelers in terms of both staffing and equipment. There is a risk in the short-term future that they will be forced to turndown new services. With band-aid solutions and consumer pressures, airports do not have the ability to provide the most of the passenger experience.
While financing is an issue in Latin America, most of the largest airports in the region are run by the private sector. Echevarne says it's currently difficult to generate enthusiasm among international investors when it comes to the smaller, more regional airports. The industry is making this more attractive by revising concession contracts. Top of mind in the region is the liberalization of air travel.
The two panelists also discussed innovation and efficiency in airports and aviation, the concept of mixed terminals, the integrated retail model (plus F&B) and ways to engage the new generation of travelers. Post-COVID, 46% of airport revenue in North America is non-aeronautical, which is in line with before the pandemic, spend per passenger in the US is stable and integrated concepts can be expected to play out more and more.
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