The Middle East Duty Free Association (Medfa) will be organising a major conference in Dubai from November 26 to 27 to discuss the region's pivotal role in the global economy.

The conference is being held in association with TFWA, the world's biggest duty free and travel retail association, at the Jumeirah Creekside Hotel.

Top duty free and travel retail industry executives will debate on the Middle East’s pivotal role in the global economy, specifically in the aviation sector as it is a major hub for international travel, said the organisers.

After the opening address by  John Sime, the Medfa president, another keynote speaker Dr Ghanem Al Hajri, the director general of Sharjah Airport Authority will provide his views on the state of the aviation industry in the Middle East, looking at key growth factors and how airports in the UAE are prepared for future economic fluctuations.

Dr Costas Verginis, the director, Consulting Real Estate & Hospitality, Deloitte & Touche will present a wider perspective of the Middle East within the global economy against the backdrop of recent political turmoil and of the impact of travel to and through the region by people from fast growing economies such as China and India.

In ‘About Africa: focus on business in North & South Africa’, retailers and operators will assess the growth drivers, recent performance and expectations for the future in their respective markets.   

The focus will be turned on the consumer in ‘Shopper insights: downtown and duty free’ with analysis of the shopping behaviour of different customers in the two channels by specialists in Middle Eastern markets.

Engaging the customer at all stages of the travel experience is the subject of '360° Communication’ led by experts in communications technology and social media, said Medfa.

The keynote speaker on the second day will be Jazeera Airways CEO Stephan Pichler who will discuss ways to ‘Build the brand in the Middle East’ with his insight to the future of the airline sector in the region.

Finally in ‘East meets West: a focus on China, India and the Chinese and Indian travellers in the Middle East’ the two Asian giants, which route millions of passengers through the Middle East, will go under the spotlight.

The conference will be moderated by Dermot Davitt, the executive director – deputy publisher, The Moodie Report and John Sutcliffe, consultant Director, Aer Rianta International Middle East.-TradeArabia News Service