IAADFS unveils 2024 Summit sessions

This year’s Summit of the Americas show will return to Florida from 14-17 April with two sessions, including one focused on the cruise sector.

The International Association of Airport and Duty Free Stores (IAADFS) will host a panel discussion and a seminar on the cruise channel at its upcoming Summit of the Americas event, held in West Palm Beach, Florida.

On Monday 15 April from 8.45am to 10am, attendees can sit in on ‘The Americas — Change and Promise’ a panel discussion that will chart the changes to the duty free and travel retail market in the Americas. 

The panel will be moderated by IAADFS chairmen Rene Riedi and feature insights from such industry experts as Greg Ford, general manager travel retail Americas at Pernod Ricard; Felipe Grant, general manager at Puig Travel Retail Americas; Markus Suter, sales and market manager global travel retail the Americas at Lindt; and Nuno Amaral, chief operations and business development officer at Aer Rianta International. There is also one additional panellist who has yet to confirm attendance. 

Prior to the panel, Riedi will provide opening remarks and IAADFS activities, changes, and future directions.

“We have organised an informative and valuable panel discussion designed to provide our attendees with information on the current opportunities and challenges facing the industry,” IAADFS president and CEO Michael Payne said. “The intent is to structure this session as a conversational exchange with the panellists through a series of questions and answers; this dialogue approach will be engaging, and the audience will find the content valuable.”

Then, on Tuesday 16 April, attendees are invited to ‘Sailing into Success: Cruise retail in the Americas 2024’, that offers insightful exploration into the burgeoning opportunities within the regional cruise retail sector. It is hosted by the organisers of the market-leading cruise retail event, the DFNI Cruise Conference.

“We are excited to partner with our friends at DFNI to offer a session focused on the robust and fast-growing cruise industry in the Americas,” Payne said. 

The session, which will look at how innovative retail strategies are transforming the guest experience aboard cruise ships and the evolving preferences of those guests, will begin at 1pm and is open to all registered attendees. The workshop will likewise spotlight the unique allure of the region’s hottest cruise destinations and how they can be leveraged to create enticing retail experiences that resonate with a diverse demographic.

Panellists will include Clara Susset, chief operating officer at M1nd-set;  Lisa Kauffman, chief sales and marketing officer for Starboard Cruise Services; Emily Lively, head of cruise and airlines at Diageo global travel; and Estelle Baumann, managing director at Denizen. 

The workshop will be moderated by Chris Madden, special projects editor at DFNI, with the discussion touching on behavioural and shopping trends among cruisers in the North America, South America and Caribbean markets; the synergies between destination allure and onboard retail offerings; successful retail strategies that have enhanced guest experiences, innovative approaches to drive retail revenue in 2024, and future trends and shifts in consumer behaviour.