Anne Kavanagh is stepping into the role of Managing Director at APTRA.

The Asia Pacific Travel Retail Association (APTRA) has revealed that its North Asia Forum will take place in Hong Kong on Thursday, 12 November 2026.

The one-day event will feature expert insights on Chinese and Korean travellers, regional market updates and a networking dinner. More details are set to be announced in June.

APTRA has also announced that seasoned industry executive Anne Kavanagh has been promoted to Managing Director of the association.

“Anne’s promotion is deserved recognition of her exceptional leadership and expanded remit across APTRA’s operations,” said APTRA President Sunil Tuli.

“Since joining APTRA in 2022 she has played a pivotal role in driving a transformational shift in the association’s support for the industry. This includes the ideation and delivery of the APTRA India Conference Series, launched in 2024, which was quickly established as a must-attend event focused on travel retail’s fastest-growing market.

“Notably, Anne has consistently elevated the standards of our networking and advocacy work and strengthened APTRA’s reputation across the sector. We are delighted to appoint her as Managing Director.”

Anne Kavanagh with guests at the APTRA networking lunch on 10 May in Singapore.

APTRA also reports robust industry engagement during TFWA Singapore last week, highlighted by a networking lunch on May 10 attended by 170 industry colleagues.

During its Annual General Meeting on 13 May, APTRA updated members on its advocacy strategy across the region and the regulatory issues it has addressed in 16 key markets over the past year.

APTRA to speak at the TR Consumer Forum

In other news, TRBusiness is delighted to announce that Kavanagh will be speaking at this year’s TR Consumer Forum in Geneva. She will be speaking in the session titled ‘The Asia Traveller Reset: Who’s Moving, Who’s Spending, What’s Changing’ on Thursday 2 July, alongside Yilin Wang, Founder & CEO of Yilin Consulting and Peter Mohn, CEO & Owner of m1nd-set . The session will be moderated by John Rimmer, Director, JCR Consulting.

Organised by TRBusiness with consumer research partner m1nd-set, the duty free and travel retail (DF&TR) industry’s consumer-centric TR Consumer Forum, is taking place at the IATA Geneva Conference Center from 1-3 July, 2026.

Currently, you can save more than a fifth (22%) off the cost of your delegate pass thanks to the early bird discount, which sees tickets priced at GBP£750 each until Friday 29 May (17:30 UTC).

To find out more, visit TRConsumerForum.com.

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