Angela Gittens, Director General of ACI World points to ‘robust conference programmes’ at next month’s ACI North America Annual Conference and The Trinity Forum 2014.

 

The ACI North America Annual Conference & Exhibition is being held in Atlanta, Georgia from 7–10 September and The Trinity Forum 2014 (co-organized by The Moodie Report and ACI) is scheduled to begin a week later in Taipei, Taiwan from 17–19 September.

 

Writing in her monthly World Report [click here to download: http://www.aci.aero/News/ACI-World-Report] Gittens informs association members that both events represent ‘an excellent opportunity for airports to get involved and increase their awareness of valuable solutions for the industry’.

 

She said: “Both the Annual Conference & Exhibition and The Trinity Forum will feature robust conference programmes aimed [at] getting us to think outside of the box to find novel solutions to problems and discover new ways to create opportunities.

 

SPEAKERS: Dan Cappell, Senior Vice President Business Development, Abu Dhabi Airports, Barbara Lavernos, Managing Director, L’Oréal Group Travel Retail Division Worldwide and Keith Hunter, Senior Vice President, Qatar Duty Free.

 

“Those planning to head to Atlanta should know that ACI-NA is putting together a line-up of expert speakers from the aviation industry and other diverse fields as a means of igniting new ideas and inciting the dialogue that is so vital to our industry’s continued evolution.

 

FOOD FOR THOUGHT FOR AIRPORT OPERATORS

“Similarly, The Trinity Forum 2014 will give airport operators plenty of food for thought as it brings together airports, retailers and suppliers for what will most certainly be some spirited conversation on how stakeholders with varied interests can best work together for the common good.

 

“And of course, we’re a business of people serving people, and no event would be complete without giving attendees the opportunity to network outside of the conference and exhibition halls.

 

SPEAKERS: Paul Topping, Board Director, Flemingo International, Gavin McKechnie, Vice President Commercial, Abu Dhabi Airports Company and Susan Whelan, Senior Executive Vice President, King Power International Group (Thailand).

 

“From the ACI-NA Annual Conference & Exhibition’s Closing Night Event at the College Football Hall of Fame to the Trinity Forum’s glamorous gala dinner, attendees will have occasion to foster friendships that may one day help move the industry forward in ways we can now only imagine.”

 

As Gittens says, this year’s Trinity event – entitled ‘Towards Cutting-Edge Retail’ – does look interesting, with some good topics and industry speakers. Just a few of the highlights picked out from the three-day agenda (17-19 September) by TRBusiness include the first Trinity Panel on Thursday 18 September entitled Raising retail ambitions to a complete new level; Improving the tender process for the sake of all parties; Looking through the crystal ball; ASQ findings on the role and performance of retail from ACI’s Dr. Rafael Echevarne [= always good-Ed]; and Small and medium airports – big commercial opportunities.

 

TAOYUAN – IN STRONG GROWTH MODE

As reported, this year’s host is Taoyuan International Airport Corporation, with the event now relocated from Bangkok to the Grand Hyatt Taipei Hotel in Taiwan.

 

SPEAKERS: Gerry Munday, Global Travel Retail Director, Furla, Spencer Sheen, Head of Retail, London Gatwick Airport and Dr. Rafael Echevarne, Director, Economics and Programme Development, ACI World.

 

Interestingly, this airport had a 15% rise in international passenger numbers last year, as sales turnover reached an estimated NT$5bn ($165m) thanks to growing Mainland Chinese customers buying from Ever Rich, Tasa Meng and the state-run Taiwan Tobacco Corp’s departure and arrivals shops in 2013.

 

A total of 30.7m (+15%) passengers used Taoyuan Airport in 2013 and this is expected to reach 34m by the end of this calendar year. [A major in-depth interview with Taoyuan Taoyan Airport Senior Manager Linda Chen appeared in the July 2014 edition of TRBusiness-Ed. Click here to access the full electronic edition: http://stonewa.sh/trbusiness/trbusiness-july-2014].

 

SPEAKERS: Muriel Zingraff-Shariff, ex-Heathrow Airport Retail Director, Peter Zottl, Vice President Travel Retail, Daniel Swarovski Corp and Bill Matz, Director, The S-A-P Group.

The single delegate fee cost of attending the Trinity Forum 2014 is $1,350 and the Taipei Grand Hyatt Hotel is currently quoting a price of NT$7,000 ($234) per night (+15.5% service charge and tax).

[The full programme – published in TRBusiness yesterday – can now be found in greater detail, along with the speakers by clicking here: http://www.trinity2014.com/?page_id=15 – Ed].

 

TOP IMAGE: Angela Gittens, Director General of ACI World.

 

The Grand Hyatt Taipei Hotel in Taiwan [Photo credit: Hyatt Hotel Group].