This year’s TFWA Asia Pacific Exhibition & Conference in Singapore (10-14 May) has been cancelled.

The decision was taken at a TFWA Management Committee and Board meeting held today (5 March) in light of escalating uncertainty surrounding the spread of the novel coronavirus (Covid-19) and the ongoing threat it poses to international travellers.

TFWA last terminated the event in 2003 due to the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) outbreak, which infected an estimated 8,098 people and killed 774 between November 2002 and July 2003 [Source: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention].

DECISION ‘NOT TAKEN LIGHTLY’

In a statement, TFWA President Alain Maingreaud said: “This is not a decision that we wanted to take, nor is it one the Board and Management Committee has taken lightly.

“However, we feel that cancelling the event is the best and most responsible course of action, given the health crisis that has spread throughout the world, and the huge impact of the Covid-19 outbreak on our market.

“We trust that our customers and business partners, especially in Asia Pacific, will understand our decision and accept that it has been taken with the best interests of the industry, and those who serve it, in mind. We remain fully committed to our mission to provide the duty free & travel retail industry with a platform to prosper, and we will return to Asia Pacific in 2021 with renewed vigour and confidence in our industry’s resilience and capacity for re-invention.”

TFWA’s decision to cancel the show will be met with disappointment by the travel retail community given the high levels of investment, particularly from exhibitors.

As many will have read earlier this week, TRBusiness conducted a 24-hour flash survey to canvas the opinion of travel retail stakeholders on whether two of the industry’s biggest trade fairs, the DF&TR Summit of the Americas [now cancelled] and the TFWA Asia Pacific Exhibition & Conference, should go ahead as planned despite the outbreak of Covid-19.

Asked whether the TFWA Exhibition should go ahead as planned on 10-14 May in Singapore, 50.21% of respondents said ‘yes’ while 49.79% said ‘no’.

Of those who have no travel restrictions imposed, a much higher 70.55% said they thought that the TFWA Asia Pacific event should continue as planned (29.45% voted against). The percentage in favour of attending the show (should it go ahead as planned) was even higher to 80.71% among those who have no travel restrictions.

TFWA and APTRA moved to reassure industry stakeholders last month that preparations for the trade show would continue as planned, with close contact being maintained with the relevant authorities in Singapore.

TAKING APPROPRIATE ACTION

However, the associations would ‘take appropriate action in the interests of the industry as and when necessary’.

Maingreaud told TRBusiness in the month prior that ‘there was no plan B’ with regards to a contingency for the event as the association relayed its thoughts to the victims, individuals and organisations impacted by the outbreak.

At the time or writing, Covid-19 has resulted in more than 95,000 cases and in excess of 3,000 deaths worldwide, according to the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control.

Watch out for the April edition of TRBusiness for an exclusive interview with TFWA.

Click here to watch a series of vox pops revealing what Covid-19 means for consumers’ travel plans.