2025 Summit Conference Session Program
Conference sessions during the 2025 Summit of the Americas were held on Sunday, March 9 and Monday, March 10. In addition to keynote speaker John Price, Managing Director of Americas Market Intelligence (AMI), who led off the conference session program on the morning of Sunday, March 9, there were four workshop discussions that attendees could join during the Summit. These sessions were designed to help attendees better understand the business environment they face, and more importantly, how they can thrive, improve sales, and enhance partnerships.
Sunday, March 9
9:00 am – 9:30 am
IAADFS Welcoming Comments
Rene Riedi, IAADFS Chairman
9:30 am – 10:30 am
Keynote Presentation: The Latin America Political, Economic and Social Trends Driving the Travel Sector
(Click here to see the slides from John Price's keynote presentation.)
John Price, Managing Director, Americas Market Intelligence (AMI)
Join us Sunday morning for an engaging session that delves into the political, economic, and social trends in Latin America that drive the travel sector. John will review recent travel trends in Latin America and the evolution of Latin America’s affluent and mass-affluent travelers. His presentation will include a review of the economic outlook for the region for the next several years and will look at longer-term trends that have an impact on Latin America travel.
1:00 pm – 2:00 pm
Next Generation Growth: Charting the Future of the Cruise Sector
(Click here to see the slides from this presentation.)
Anna Marchesini, Head of Business Development, m1nd-set
Nicolas Hoeborn, CEO, Heinemann Americas
Benito Mendez, SVP of Merchandising and Planning, Starboard
Gian-Franco Botteri, SVP of Caribbean and Cruises, Avolta
Catherine Restrepo, Founder & CEO, SYZYGY Strategies
Chris Madden, Deputy Editor, DFNI (Moderator)
The cruise sector is one of the most vibrant sectors of the travel retail industry today, with a surge in both new and repeat passengers, driven in many regions by an influx of younger, affluent travellers. Global cruise capacity is expected to grow by 10% by 2028. The Americas has long been an epicentre of the cruise market, with some predicting growth in the region will outstrip the global market up to 2030. Against this backdrop, the IAADFS presents a dedicated Cruise Workshop, looking into the travellers and shoppers who are driving growth in cruise retail, with a dedicated spotlight on younger, Gen Z travellers and how to meet their evolving demands at-sea. M1nd-set Head of Business Development Anna Marchesini will present dedicated insights into the shifting habits of cruise shoppers. Heinemann Americas CEO Nicolas Hoeborn, Avolta SVP of Caribbean and Cruises Gian-Franco Botteri, Starboard SVP of Merchadising and Planning Benito Mendez, and Catherine Restrepo, Founder & CEO of SYZYGY Strategies will offer their insights into the latest development in the market, and how both brands and retailers are adapting to the new opportunities. DFNI Deputy Editor Chris Madden will moderate the session.
3:00 pm – 4:00 pm
Airports: Major Challenges and Unlimited Opportunities
Rafael Echevarne, Director General, Airports Council International, Latin America & Caribbean
Matt Cornelius, Executive Vice President, Airports Council International North America
Rene Riedi, IAADFS Chairman (Moderator)
Plan to attend an informative and valuable session featuring two of the most informed speakers on issues confronting airports throughout the region. Rafael Echevarne and Matt Cornelius will join in a free-flowing discussion on the many challenges and impactful growth demands that must be met in the airport environment. Airports remain the largest revenue source for travel retail and associated duty free sales overall throughout the region, but is that growth curve likely to continue historic trends? Sales revenue from all channels including retail, food and beverage, and duty free are critical to airport growth. Learn how airport executives look to ensure that growth continues and how to adapt to growing challenges. The session will be moderated by Rene Riedi, IAADFS Chairman, with the opportunity for audience participation.
Monday, March 10
9:30 am – 10:30 am
Unlocking Footfall and Conversion: The Power of Experiential Retail in Duty Free and Travel Retail
(Click here to see m1nd-set's slides from this presentation.)
Dr. Peter Mohn, Founder & CEO, m1nd-set
Kate Herzig, Executive Vice President, Duty Free North America & Canada Retail Operations, Avolta
Sammy Patel, Vice President, Commercial – Vantage Group and Chief Executive Officer – Midway Partnership
Andy Machin, Managing Director, Kounter Retail
Faye Bartle, Managing Editor, TRBusiness (Moderator)
This special Americas edition of the TR Consumer Forum, organized by TRBusiness and data partner m1nd-set, will explore how experiential retail can be leveraged effectively to help drive footfall and conversion in the channel. This one-hour session is designed to be packed with actionable insights and will begin with exclusively curated research from m1nd-set, which unpacks the motivating factors for today’s travelling shoppers, as the price advantage diminishes in importance. Peter Mohn will explain how experience-led activations can influence consumer behavior, satisfaction and purchasing decisions, with an in-depth look at the ways in which this information can be leveraged to help boost sales growth. The research will be brought to life by industry experts who will discuss the challenges and opportunities around integrating experiential retail into the offering. The session will offer a taste of what’s to come at the TR Consumer Forum, which is taking place June 2-4, 2025 (please see www.trconsumerforum.com to find out more).
1:30 pm – 2:30 pm
Creating a Vibrant Future
(Click here to see the slides from this presentation.)
Andy Weddig, Executive Director, Airport Restaurant & Retail Association (ARRA)
David Bisset, Chief Development Officer, Paradies Lagardère Travel Retail
Derryl Benton, Chief Development Officer, North America, Avolta
Judy Byrd, President & CEO, Byrd Retail Group
Dermot Davitt, President and Editorial Director, The Moodie Davitt Report (Moderator)
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 characterize a new framework?
In this session, co-organised by the Airport Restaurant & Retail Association and The Moodie Davitt Report, 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?