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IAADFS confirms final summit sessions
The International Association of Airport and Duty Free Stores (IAADFS) has shared details of the final sessions of the 2025 Summit of the Americas in Miami.
The IAADFS 2025 Summit of the Americas will take place from 8-11 March at the InterContinental Miami, Florida, US.
The keynote speaker for this year’s summit, John Price, managing director of Americas Market Intelligence (AMI), will lead the conference session programme on Sunday 9 March.
In collaboration with the summit’s media partners, ACI North America, ACI Latin America Caribbean, TRBusiness, and M1nd-set, IAADFS will present four sessions that will provide actionable intelligence to attendees.
IAADFS has now revealed details about the last two sessions of the 2025 summit.
Navigating the cruise channel
The first will be a cruise-focused session, called Next Generation Growth: Charting the Future of the Cruise Sector, which will be held on Sunday 9 March, from 1-2pm.
Delving into the ‘vibrant’ cruise sector, the session provides insight into today’s travel retail industry and the surge in both new and repeat passengers, driven in many regions by an influx of younger, affluent travellers.
According to the organiser, the global cruise capacity is expected to grow by 10% by 2028. The Americas has long been the epicentre of the cruise market, with some predicting that growth in the region will outstrip the global market up to 2030.
At the session, IAADFS will present a dedicated Cruise Workshop, looking into the travellers and shoppers driving growth in the channel, with a spotlight on meeting the demands of Gen Z travellers.
Moderated by DFNI deputy editor Chris Madden, the session will feature insight by Anna Marchesini, head of business development at M1nd-set; Nicola Hoeborn, managing director of Heinemann Americas; Benito Mendez, senior vice-president of merchandising and planning at Starboard; and Catherine Restrepo, founder and CEO of Syzygy Strategies.
Future of airport concessions
The last confirmed session, Creating a Vibrant Future, co-organised by the Airport Restaurant & Retail Association and The Moodie Davitt Report, focuses on the airport concessions market on Monday 10 March, from 1.30-2.30pm.
The session will feature speakers Andy Weddig, executive director of Airport Restaurant & Retail Association (ARRA); David Bisset, chief development officer at Paradies Lagardère Travel Retail; and Judy Byrd, president and CEO of Byrd Retail Group.
It will be moderated by Dermot Davitt, president and editorial director of The Moodie Davitt Report.
IAADFS summarised the session’s outline: “While passenger traffic in the Americas has roared back, led by domestic travel, giving the appearance that airport concessions are viable, in reality, a vibrant future remains a challenge in the face of rising labour costs – many now enshrined by airports in their terms – alongside lagging sales and unprofitable contracts. In short, do we – as an industry – need a new framework? And, if so, what changes to our current model characterise a new framework?
“In this session, we ask where the concessions business goes from here, how we evolve a business model that works for all, and address why many tender bids today across retail and dining attract weak responses or none at all. What does a good concessions partnership look like in the future?”
Additional information about the 2025 Summit can be found on the summit’s website.
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