Julia Gillard to open TFWA Asia Pacific

Former Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard is to give the keynote speech at the TFWA Asia Pacific travel retail conference in Hong Kong this May.

Julia Gillard, former Australian Prime Minister, will open TFWA Asia Pacific with a keynote speech

Gillard, who helped steer Australia through the global financial crisis following her appointment in 2010, will open the TFWA Asia Pacific Exhibition and Conference on 12 May.

Her experience as Australian Prime Minister is well suited to attendees at the conference, who are also seeking to position themselves to take advantage of Asia’s economical rise.

Thom Rankin, TFWA vice-president, said: “The theme of the TFWA Asia Pacific Conference refers not only to the fact that the duty free and travel retail business is developing rapidly in Asia but to the impact of Asian travelling consumers on various markets.

Our speakers have first-hand experience at the highest level and are very well-placed to comment on the ways in which Asia is shaping the world.”

Gillard will be joined as keynote speaker by author and geo-political expert Parag Khanna, as well as TFWA president Erik Juul-Mortensen and APTRA president Jaya Singh.

Following the conference, a choice of four workshops will be offered to attendees, each focusing on a particular Asian sub-region.

Details of the TFWA Asia Pacific Exhibition & Conference, held at Marina Bay Sands Expo and Convention Centre from 11-15 May 2014, can be found at www.tfwa.com.