A new schedule of Responsible Retail Training seminars, enhancements to the Duty Free & Travel Retail Database, topical research studies and advocacy support are among the immediate priorities for the Asia Pacific Travel Retail Association (APTRA) this year.
A wide-ranging research program, conducted for APTRA by M1nd-set, has kicked off this year with a study of the shopping behaviour of Chinese travellers on domestic and international journeys, including their motivations for shopping and not shopping, their product preferences as well as the customer segmentation on selected routes.
The headline results of this study, which is sponsored by Diageo, will be presented at the TFWA China’s Century Conference, organised in partnership with APTRA, in Shanghai on March 12.
Future research topics will include the behaviour & attitudes of Asia Pacific (AsPac) travellers (China, Korea, Japan, Thailand, Indonesia, Philippines, Vietnam) in the region; a focus on Russian travellers in Asia Pacific; the behaviour & attitudes of non-AsPac passengers in the region; in-flight shopping – perceptions & the impact of promotions; behaviour & attitudes of AsPac vs non-AsPac passengers in Asia Pacific; evaluation of future in-flight shopping & concepts.
The Responsible Retail Training Program, which has already been adopted by several major retailers, will be extended to other retailers in the region in order to ensure that there are consistently high standards across the duty free & travel retail spectrum in the Asia Pacific region.
The APTRA Seminars, aimed at bringing useful insights on successful travel retailing to member companies and at offering networking opportunities to facilitate growth of the industry, will be organised at various locations throughout the year.
The popular APTRA Duty Free & Travel Retail Database will be populated with the contact details of even more airports, airlines, ferry companies, retailers, distributors and suppliers to facilitate easy access to the right person in the right market.
Key to the success of duty free & travel retail in the Asia Pacific region is an open dialogue
between stakeholders and regulatory authorities and in 2015 APTRA will continue its support of this ideal through advocacy.
APTRA president Jaya Singh said: “These research, training, advocacy and database initiatives are fundamental to the missions of the association, namely safeguarding the interests of all stakeholders and driving industry growth. In the last year we saw our membership grow by 20 per cent and revenues grow by almost 40 per cent as more and more companies recognise the benefits they gain from the work accomplished and the need for a strong regional association.”
APTRA is the trade association for the duty free and travel retail industry in the Asia Pacific region, serving all members and the industry to help grow the business and protect it when challenges arise. For more information about the work of APTRA visit www.aptra.asia.
