The Moodie Davitt Virtual Expo Highlights Reel

When we announced the Virtual Travel Retail Expo on 27 March, against the backdrop of the COVID-19 crisis, our aim was to bring the travel retail industry together at a time when collaboration and partnership were (and are) most needed.

The response from the industry was overwhelming. Our 124 exhibitors hit amazing heights of creativity and commitment, underlining the faith of so many partners in the eventual recovery of the business.

Designed as a premium event, we are pleased to say we also attracted a premium audience. The five-day live event attracted 4,373 unique visitors, many representing the world’s leading travel retailers and airports. Those figures were swelled during the 30-day ‘encore’ period that continued until mid-November.

Quite apart from the numbers, the Virtual Travel Retail Expo allowed engagement of a sort that has been difficult to deliver in an industry so traditionally reliant on face-to-face meetings.

The Exhibition Hub allowed that engagement in a premium environment that saw many brand owners and other exhibitors bring out their creative A games in their latest launches and campaigns. One partnership in which we take special pride is The QDF Factor, our initiative with Qatar Duty Free to champion newness across the channel, and which met with an overwhelming response (see videos on The QDF Factor below).

The hugely well attended Knowledge Hub sessions (featuring, we believe, the highest quality Symposium and Workshop agenda in industry history) and Experience Hub (an immersive engagement zone that housed some spectacular brand launches and events) were further highlights.

CSR was also an important feature of this Virtual Expo for The Moodie Davitt Report and our wonderful Stand & Experience Partner FILTR, with the event benefiting three charities: Smile Train, ImpactHK and The Trinity Forest Project.

Looking back, we took an unproven concept for a digital travel retail exposition, and, we believe, curated it into a high-class, interactive, efficient and easily navigable experience that has connected the industry and offered a platform to help our channel chart a way forward.

It is, we believe, a transformational formula, one that can serve the needs of the industry long term, either supplementing or – when market conditions dictate – replacing physical events.

We plan to build on this success with a bigger and more evolved event in 2021, allied to others planned such as the 2021 Virtual Summit of the Americas, Beauty Tech Live and others through which we will build on the commitment to innovation that is part of our DNA.

Here we bring you video highlights of a memorable and engaging week at the Virtual Travel Retail Expo. For a full review, click on the link to our dedicated post-event eZine below.

Click here for our in-depth review of the inaugural Virtual Travel Retail Expo, a concept embraced actively and enthusiastically by the industry