March 5 2020  |  Industry News

TFWA Asia Pacific Exhibition & Conference in Singapore cancelled amid COVID-19 crisis

By Hibah Noor

At its meeting earlier today, the TFWA Board and Management Committee decided to cancel the TFWA Asia Pacific Exhibition & Conference due to be held in Singapore on May 10-14. The decision was taken as a result of widespread concern, expressed by many exhibitors and delegates, with regard to the significant negative impact of the Covid-19 outbreak on the global duty free & travel retail industry. The Management Committee took into account the need to ensure as far as possible the health and safety of TFWA’s customers, staff and all who attend the event; it also noted that certain key nationalities are currently subject to immigration restrictions in Singapore, with further travel restrictions possible.

TFWA President Alain Maingreaud said: “This is not a decision that we wanted to take, nor is it one the Board and Management Committee has taken lightly. However, we feel that cancelling the event is the best and most responsible course of action, given the health crisis that has spread throughout the world, and the huge impact of the Covid-19 outbreak on our market.

“We trust that our customers and business partners, especially in Asia Pacific, will understand our decision and accept that it has been taken with the best interests of the industry, and those who serve it, in mind. We remain fully committed to our mission to provide the duty free & travel retail industry with a platform to prosper, and we will return to Asia Pacific in 2021 with renewed vigour and confidence in our industry’s resilience and capacity for re-invention.”

REGION Asia
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