The Trinity Forum: Introduction
Reinforcing Trinity principles of people, planet and partnership
We carry extensive highlights in words, images and video of the world’s leading airport commercial revenues conference, which took place in Hong Kong on 25-26 October.
One of the most memorable Trinity Forums in the event’s 20-year history took place in Hong Kong on 25-26 October, hosted in style by Hong Kong International Airport. It was organised by The Moodie Davitt Report in association with Airports Council International (ACI) Asia-Pacific and Middle East and ACI World.
Key themes that cropped up time and again included the importance of consumer-centricity, the convergence of business channels, the need for partnerships to be bold and brave, the twin roles of digitalisation and humanity in our sector and the imperative to embrace sustainability.
Reflecting on the time since the first Trinity Forum was held in London in 2003, The Moodie Davitt Report Founder & Chairman Martin Moodie said: “When I created the event, it was an effort to foster an enhanced mutual understanding between sector stakeholders in an attempt to serve the travelling consumer better and to grow the collective pie rather than focusing – in often adversarial manner – as to who got the biggest slice.
Video highlights from a memorable Trinity Forum 2023 (click above to view)
“Simply stated goals, devilishly hard to deliver. At that 2003 event, Nestlé Vice-Chairman and CEO Peter Brabeck-Letmathe said travel retail had become ‘fat and comfortable’ after nearly five decades of a privileged existence of selling on price against a backdrop of highly taxed domestic markets and ever-increasing passenger traffic.
“There needed to be, he contended, a ‘fundamental rethink of the relationship between brands, retailers and airports, balancing investment and return, risk and reward’.
“The ‘splendid isolation of the industry’, he argued, had made it blind to the challenges of our time. We had to come out of a ‘closed shop’ and turn problems into opportunities. There is no better time to act than in a time of crisis.
Talking people, planet and partnership: The Moodie Davitt Report Founder & Chairman Martin Moodie (left) and President Dermot Davitt welcome guests on 25 October
“Roll forward 20 years. Well boy have we had a crisis. And while our industry in fact displayed remarkable resilience to crisis; attention now switches to how fit we are to exploit the recovery. Everywhere we see passenger numbers making an encouraging revival. But in many locations we see soft retail spending. As always in our industry it’s not simply about how many are travelling but who they are and how they are behaving.
“I contend that the principles of Trinity are today more important than ever. But principles 2023-style. Underpinned by a focus on people – the people who serve our industry and the people who our industry serves – of planet and, naturally, of partnership.
“An obsession with meeting the needs and desires of the travelling consumer must be the starting and end point for our industry. The days of silos– both internally and between stakeholders – should be consigned to history.”
The airport view: ACI World Director General Luis Felipe de Oliveira (left) and ACI Asia-Pacific and Middle East Director General Stefano Baronci assess the health of global and regional aviation
The Moodie Davitt Report President Dermot Davitt added: “The Trinity must also ensure a fair and just relationship between brands, retailers and airports, encouraging shared upside and minimising downside not for one but for all.
“It’s easier said than done. But if you don’t embark on a journey, you will never reach a destination.
“Now we’re tracking a path forward to another P in addition to the Ps mentioned earlier of people, planet and partnership and that’s progress. Progress through innovation – digital, in-store, out of store, in fact right through the traveller journey. All underpinned by an unrelenting focus on the consumer.”
How we introduced the key themes of Trinity 2023 in our opening video
ACI Workshop: Building airport non-aeronautical revenues
A well-attended pre-Trinity Forum conference Airports Council International (ACI) workshop presented delegates with rich airport data insights and opinions and strategies surrounding non-aeronautical revenues in the airport environment.
ACI World Senior Vice President Programmes and Commercial Services Antonie Rostworowski presented positive data on the recovery of air traffic. A highlight forecast was that 2019 traffic levels (9.2 billion) will be recovered by Q4 next year.
Longer-term, ACI data suggests air traffic could more than double by 2041 to over 19 billion. Rostworowski highlighted ways in which this demand could be met with advancements in the speed of passenger movement through the airport.
ACI World Director, Programmes and Commercial Services Lisa Williams presented findings from the ASQ Global Travel Survey in 2022. Among them was that 73% of passengers have anxiety about the airport experience even before they travel. Williams highlighted some key areas in which this could be addressed by the airport industry.
A well-received ACI Workshop kicked off proceedings before the plenary sessions on 25 October
A strong panel presented on the work of the Airports Non-Aeronautical Revenues and Activities (ANARA) organisation, a growing Trinity union between airports, retailers and brands.
Delegates heard the opinions of Paccaya Resources Chief Executive Officer and Managing Partner Andrew Ford, Kansai Airports Chief Commercial Officer (Non-Aeronautical) Stephane Geffroy and ACI World Director Economics Policy and ANARA Secretary Slava Cheglatonyev, who all underlined the importance of the non-aeronautical revenues aspects of the airport business.
The workshop concluded with fascinating insights from ACI Asia-Pacific and Middle East Manager, Economics Philip Kwok and Senior Expert, Economics & ESG Ilia Lioutov, who presented data which included a survey addressing trends and relationships between airports and concessionaires in the post-COVID era.
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Issue 329 | 22 November 2023
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