Newly appointed Asia Pacific Travel Retail Association (APTRA) President Sunil Tuli has called for a collective voice during the Covid-19 crisis, which he describes as “the single most disastrous period the industry has ever faced.”

Group CEO of King Power Hong Kong, Tuli, who was recently elected APTRA President for a fourth time following three consecutive spells in the position from 2007-13, is the latest interviewee in the TRBusiness Adapt & Survive Skype video series.

He said: “I want everyone in the industry to get active and play their part in supporting APTRA and our sister associations. We have given all members a tool kit so they can communicate directly with governments and echo our collective industry voice.”

Tuli, who lives in Singapore, urges industry stakeholders to utilise their own contacts with local governments and politicians and “leave no stone unturned” during this unprecedented period.

“This is a fight for industry survival. There are 320,000 jobs associated with Asia Pacific travel retail alone, so if you are operating in travel retail and not a member of an association like APTRA then please join.”

PRIVILEGED POSITION

Further reflecting on his recent appointment as APTRA President, following the resignation of Grant Fleming Tuli remarked: “As an operator myself, I can absolute relate first-hand to everything the industry is going through.

“I am privileged to have been voted for by my board colleagues to lead the association again during a time none of us could have imagined a few months ago. After the first few months of travellers dwindling to next to nothing, the industry across Asia Pacific is at vastly different stages in the impact of the pandemic.”

Emphasising the vastness of the Asia Pacific region Tuli added: “Let’s remember this is a vast region with a very diverse geography. We go from one extreme of India right now, which is in the biggest lockdown of humanity with 1.3 billion people staying at home and all airports closed, to China where internal travel is starting to reopen.

“Reports of trading in Wuhan and Hainan are encouraging and show there is life in business on the other side of the tunnel.

“In other countries, where governments have different approaches to virus control, we are seeing that operators, as the title of your series says, are in adapt and survive mode and changing the business model.”

Adapt and Survive asks members of the travel retail industry community, often working from home, for their candid commentary on the constantly evolving Covid-19 pandemic.

The video series is a direct response to the industry’s critical need for direct, factual and analytical commentary and – in typical TRBusiness fashion – interprets clearly and concisely the challenges faced by travel retail during Covid-19.

To register your interest in the Adapt and Survive series, please contact one of the editorial team at the following addresses: charl[email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected].