The Nordic Travel Retail Group (NTRG) has nominated Inflight Service AB, Copenhagen Airports and Scandlines for its Nordic Travel Retail Initiative Award.

The association says that the nominees have been made by the board of NTRG and visitors to its newly launched NTRG-website (www.nordictravelretailgroup.com) where visitors can vote for their favourite until May 26.

In a statement, the NTRG said: ‘After the abolition of duty free sales in Europe in July 1999 it was widely believed that the new market situation would reduce the travel retail industry to a minimum. Some operators within the travel retail industry wanted to prove it differently and for a decade they have shown outstanding creativity and initiative.

‘The entire industry benefit from these kinds of activities and that is why we want to pay tribute to what has been implemented during the past decade. At the same time we also want to stimulate initiative and creativity in the future’, says Erik Thomsen, Chairman of the Nordic Travel Retail Group.

The Nordic Travel Retail Initiative Award will be presented to the winner during the dinner of the Nordic Travel Retail Seminar 2009 as the culmination of an agenda preparing the participants for future challenges.

Head of Trade ETR, Mark Myrray, from British American Tobacco International completes the Industry Panel which will discuss their plans to go beyond the crisis and into the future. Nuance, Inflight Service, Heinemann-S?ther, Valora Trade Travel Retail and British American Tobacco International are also represented on the panel.

The association adds that the winner of the Nordic Travel Retail Initiative Award will be based on a web poll at the new website of NTRG.

‘The new website has a modern graphic design and it is far more user friendly than the previous one. Furthermore it gives us the possibility of letting the industry decide who deserves to be prize winner of The Nordic Travel Retail Initiative Award. We are looking forward to lots of visitors and votes at our new website’, says Thomsen.

The NTRG board says there are several reasons for making the nominations that they have and these are included in its statement and included below.

It says that the Inflight Service AB nomination is based on this company's consistency since 1991 in providing services to the travel retail industry that enhance operational efficiency, boost sales and revenue and enable their customers to free resources, so focusing on their core business as travel operators.

NTRG said: ‘In 1999, when intra-EU duty-free was abolished, Inflight Service created a system to continue to sell to travel retail customers based on the lower taxes in southern Europe. This achievement can be accredited to Inflight's ability to preserve the entrepreneurial focus that the company was built on.’

Turning to its nomination of Copenhagen Airports, NTRG said: ‘Always with the highest of ambitions, Copenhagen Airports, Kastrup, is constantly reaching for the stars within airport retailing. After the abolition of intra-EU duty-free in 1999, Copenhagen Airports did not hesitate to introduce duty paid liquor sales, pre-order and arrival shopping.

‘There has hardly been a year where Copenhagen Airports has not refurbished the shop and added new brands and concepts in order to maximize sales. No wonder that CPH has won a number of awards over the years, including the 'IATA's World's Best Airport' award in 2002.’

Last, but not least, NTRG said of Scandlines: ‘The management of Scandlines' Travel Retail business has been extremely creative skillfully using every opportunity and every new idea to expand the business. After the abolition of the intra EU duty-free Scandlines GmbH established a floating retail sales supermarket, Border Shop, as a shore-based shop in the waters of the quay in Puttgarten (Germany) and later in Sassnitz (Germany).

Border Shop has proven to be one of the biggest successes in the Nordic Travel Retail business. The supermarkets are targeting Nordic consumers and during the last ten years they have continued to expand. Another of Scandlines' fantastic creations has been the 'Shopping Club' which at present has a stunning plus-110.000 members.’

Visitors can register for the Nordic Travel Retail Seminar at www.nordictravelretailgroup.com.