Sunil Tuli offered a timely update on APTRA’s lobbing activities in India and South Korea.

Sunil Tuli, President of Asia Pacific Travel Retail Assocation (APTRA) and Group CEO, King Power Group (Hong Kong) has reflected on what remains an enduring challenge in travel retail, particularly for airports in Asia Pacific – incongruent travel and purchasing levels.

Tuli was speaking to TRBusiness Shorts, the exclusive video series produced in association with Bluedog Group and filmed on location at the recent TFWA World Exhibition & Conference in Cannes – click below to watch the full exchange.

He said: “Passengers are catching up on 2019, but the sales are not. That is clearly because Chinese are not spending the kind of money they used to.

“How do we bridge the gap? We have to wait for a while and see if their habits will change a little bit…. for the better of course. The other thing we have to remember is we’ve become too reliant on Chinese customers in the past; there are other nationalities that have started coming in.”

In a quick-fire exchange, Tuli offered his thoughts on the maiden APTRA India Conference, which as reported was held in Delhi, India in March and attracted more than 250 delegates.

He said the next event will take place in Mumbai on 12-14 February, 2025.

Meanwhile, APTRA’s advocacy efforts persist. The association is working with brand partners and retailers to lobby for an increase in the duty free arrivals allowance in India.

As revealed during the TR Consumer Forum in June, APTRA has launched a market research study and is working closely on amassing data as a precursor to engaging with government. The association has adopted a similar approach for South Korea.

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