Travel Markets Insider Newsletter Vol. 15 No. 44

The Travel Markets Insider newsletter is attached to this post as a PDF file. To open the PDF file, please click on this link.

 

Disaster in the Philippines. TMI adds its deepest condolences to those of the travel retail industry to the people in the Philippines stricken by the devastation of Typhoon Haiyan (also known as Typhoon Yolanda). Duty Free Philippines (DFP) has set up DFP Cares (the DFP Tacloban Assistance Fund) and The Moodie Report is coordinating international support from the industry.

 

Martin Moodie reports that donations are flowing into a dedicated fund (see details below) since it was announced on Monday, led by €20,000 from Dufry, plus generous contributions from The Moodie Report, Behn Group (new owner of Danzka vodka), Brian and Josie Collie, Dan Cappell, Jenny and Peter Sant, Rémy Cointreau Singapore (a combination of personal and company donations – the company doubled the amount raised by employees and management), The David King Partnership, Beverly Johannson, Tumi and Cecile Souchon with many more set to follow.

 

The lead story in this issue of TMI is an in-depth report on the first conference dedicated to the duty free trade on the Uruguay- Brazil border, which took place on Nov. 6 in Rivera, one of the key duty free centers in the region. A total of 80 delegates — a mix of shop operators, suppliers and national and local authorities from Uruguay, Argentina and Brazil — attended the event. TMI’s South American correspondent John Gallagher was the only journalist on the scene. The report is on pages 1 & 2.

 

The LA Times ran a story earlier this week stating that the European Union will begin allowing passengers to carry liquids in their carry-on luggage in January, and TMI queried IAADFS Executive Director Michael Payne for an update on the issue in the US. See his response on page 1.

 

Women are in the spotlight today. The travel industry’s fast-growing women’s networking group – WiT (Women in Travel) held a very successful meeting and fund-raiser in Cannes, which will help bring critically needed water to a remote area of China. In addition, we are here introducing 4-year-old Love-Djina – the adorable student at the Lycee Jean-Baptiste Pointe du Sable School that has been built by the Hand in Hand for Haiti Foundation. Love-Djina is being sponsored by WiT, as a result of the fundraising during the last meeting of WiT in Orlando. Details on page 3.

 

Women are the focus on the global stage, as well. LVMH and 30 of its Maisons have signed the United Nations Women’s Empowerment Principles, seven principles that promote the professional development of women in all functions and at all levels of business organizations.

 

More news from Cannes. The TFWA World Exhibition is an opportunity for many organizations to honor some of the brightest and best companies in the industry. See Inside for the winners of the 2013 Frontier Awards and Drinks International travel retail awards, along with launch news from The Macallan and The Dalmore.