The decision was taken as a result of widespread concern, expressed by many exhibitors and delegates, with regard to the significant negative impact of the Covid-19 outbreak on the global duty free and travel retail industry.

TFWA president Alain Maingreaud said: “This is not a decision that we wanted to take, nor is it one the board and management committee has taken lightly. However, we feel that cancelling the event is the best and most responsible course of action, given the health crisis that has spread throughout the world, and the huge impact of the Covid-19 outbreak on our market.

“We trust that our customers and business partners, especially in Asia Pacific, will understand our decision and accept that it has been taken with the best interests of the industry, and those who serve it, in mind.

We remain fully committed to our mission to provide the duty free & travel retail industry with a platform to prosper, and we will return to Asia Pacific in 2021 with renewed vigour and confidence in our industry’s resilience and capacity for re-invention.”