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Canadian Land Border Duty Free Store Updates:

Chuck Loewen of Peace Bridge Receives Prestigious Award

Congratulations to Chuck Loewen of Peace Bridge Duty Free on recently being selected as the 2009 winner of the Front Line Staff Binational Star Award for his long-outstanding binational leadership and commitment to cross-border regional development.

Annual Binational Star Award Nominees are individuals, businesses or organizations who demonstrate binational (U.S./Canadian) leadership, partnership, understanding and practices in one or more of the following areas:

• Participation in the creation, development, collaboration or delivery of binational products, services, programs, projects or events
• Involvement in binational committees dealing with tourism, trade, economic, cultural, academic or social issues and enhanced/improved policies related to same
• Regular communication, marketing or promotion of binational information, events, issues, and policies in an effort to reinforce the importance of U.S./Canada relationships
• In an effort to develop stronger ties and better working relationships between U.S. and Canadian partners that will benefit their industry sector and communities
• In one or more Northern cross-border regions
• In a business, community, social, academic, political or personal context

The Binational Star Awards are presented by the Canadian Consul General and other Political dignitaries at the opening lunch of the Binational Summit. This is taking place Thursday, March 25 at The Conference Center, 3rd St., Niagara Falls, NY from 12 p.m. to 2:30 p.m. 

The FDFA congratulates Chuck on this recent award, as we are all aware of his ongoing and diligent efforts regarding cross-border travel and WHTI issues.

Vancouver Olympics - Stories from the B.C Duty Free Stores

The recent Winter Olympics that Vancouver hosted this past February 2010 was a resounding success. Many of our FDFA members have contacted the FDFA office to find out “how did the duty free stores fare during the Olympics”, or “what was the mood of the customers during the Olympics?”.

To answer these questions, Laurie Karson contacted some of our B.C. duty free stores to hear stories of their success and feedback during this historical time for British Columbia and Canada.

Aldeasa Vancouver Duty Free:
Based on an interview with Susan Stein of Vancouver Airport, Aldeasa did much better than anticipated during the Winter Olympics. She noted that they had record breaking sales, and unprecedented excitement amongst the travellers in the overall Vancouver airport. She noted that there was tremendous supplier involvement at the duty free stores, which included experiential shopping i.e. ice wine tasting, cosmetic samples, and so forth. Once the traveller passed through post-security, there was a general feeling of less stress, which encouraged greater shopping. Overall, the mood was enthusiastic and uplifting, lines moved at a seamless rate, and people shopped with great fun and enthusiasm.

West Coast Duty Free:
During a discussion with Len DaSilva, he noted that their store did not see increased overall traffic during the Olympics, but they did have a 400% increase in their clothing, souvenir categories as a result of the Olympic product lines. Len attributes the traffic numbers to the following: most travellers flew to Vancouver, and many Canadians stayed in Vancouver during the Olympics, due to the multitude of events taking place i.e. Russia House, free musical concerts, etc.

Len noted that they are extremely pleased with the outcome of the Olympics as it has generated massive publicity for the province and the City of Vancouver.

Peace Arch Duty Free:
Peace Arch Duty Free had a wonderful retail experience during the Olympics. They saw increased sales and an overall terrific mood of the customers. Many of their customers during this time period were U.S. and European customers, who were residing in Seattle, Washington and travelling back and forth to the Olympic games. They saw an overall increase in souvenirs, B.C. Wines and overall alcohol sales. Part of the increase in B.C. Wines can be attributed to Vincor’s wine tasting initiative, which was a great success.

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Victory for Retailers in 2010 Federal Budget – RCC and Coalition Achieves Key Steps Toward Legislating Credit Card Companies and Protecting Canada’s Debit Market

There was good news for retailers in the recent federal budget, which clearly addressed concerns voiced by Retail Council of Canada (RCC) and the ‘Stop Sticking it to Us Coalition’ now known as the Payments Accountability Council (PAC) regarding the fees charged to merchants for credit card acceptance and the imminent entry of Visa and MasterCard into Canada's debit market.

In addition to promising a final Code of Conduct for the payments market to be released shortly, Finance Minister Jim Flaherty announced a number of other steps that will be taken to ensure merchant protection.

While other industry associations thought the voluntary Code of Conduct proposed last November would be enough, RCC continued to push for strict government oversight and possible regulatory action. Following the recommendations of RCC and its Coalition, yesterday's budget outlined the following provisions:

1. The government proposes to amend the mandate of the Financial Consumer Agency of Canada to enable it to monitor compliance with the Code of Conduct. RCC's message to government was clear — that merchants are also customers in the payments market, and should be protected from unfair practices just as individual consumers are.
2. The government will propose legislation giving the Minister of Finance the authority to regulate the market conduct of the credit and debit card networks and their participants, if necessary. This follows a key recommendation that RCC put forth in its numerous meetings with government officials.

Minister Flaherty again committed to legislate the conduct of the credit card companies, banks and processors if they do not adhere to a voluntary code. Though retailers understand the government's push for voluntary measures as a first step, RCC has continued to set the groundwork for future government regulations in light of card company practices in other countries.

These are exciting developments for Canadian retailers, but the fight continues and RCC and the FDFA will keep up the pressure.

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2009 Student Scholarship Winner – A True Student of the World

During the FDFA Gold Standards 2009 ceremony this past November 2009 in Ottawa, the winner of the prestigious FDFA Doug Waldie Student Scholarship was awarded to Ann Gregson of Importations Guay Ltee.

Ann was the recipient of this award due to her overall submission and in particular her essay submission on FDFA Internet, Advertising and Promotion. Ann was awarded $2,000 for her winning submission. Ann is currently studying Education and English as a second language. As such, she will be travelling this summer to Rwanda for 6 weeks to assist Rwandese teachers and improve their English. She applied through Global Volunteer Network and is going for the life experience and increase her existing academic studies.

Based on conversations with the management team at IGL, they are very proud of Ann and her endeavours. Ann certainly represents the qualities and competencies that the Student Scholarship was designed for.

To view Ann's winning FDFA submission please refer to the FDFA members only website.

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FDFA 25th Anniversary Convention – Registration Coming Soon

The FDFA Convention Committee, chaired by Chris Foster is very excited to announce that the FDFA Convention registration form will be sent to all of our members this May 2010. As most are aware, the convention is being held:

FDFA 25th Anniversary Convention
When: November 14th -17th, 2010
Where: Niagara Falls, Ontario
Hotel: Sheraton on the Falls Hotel

Along with your hard copy registration form, the FDFA has developed its first online registration form to allow for greater efficiency and payment security. The FDFA Convention Committee has many terrific events planned for the convention, in light of the historic milestone for the Canadian duty free industry. Such events include: An 80’s inspired Welcome Reception (no 80’s dress required), special guest speaker, commemorative gifts for delegates, expanded trade floor, formal Gala with many special guests and events planned, etc.

NOTE: If you would like to book a suite at the hotel before the registration is formally sent to all members, you can pre-book your suite via contacting Allison Boucher at the FDFA. You can reach Allison at 613-688-9788 or aboucher@fdfa.ca.

We look forward to hosting this year’s convention, and hope that all of our members can join us for this exciting convention.

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Attention: Ontario Contraband Tobacco Fight and Petition Request

Update from the Canadian Convenience Stores Association:

As you know, the illegal trade of cigarettes already accounts for almost 50% of all cigarettes purchased in the Province of Ontario. Illegal products are available at a price that is already much lower than that for legal cigarettes (average $70 for a carton of 200 legal cigarettes vs. $10 for 200 cigarettes in a plastic bag). The criminals behind the illegal trade are stealing millions of dollars in revenues from us; legitimate, law abiding, hard working retailers. As a result, this past year, 3 stores have had to close their doors per day in Ontario.

Recently the Ontario government introduced the Harmonized Sales Tax (HST), which is scheduled to take effect on July 1st of this year.. This tax increase, will raise legal tobacco prices by 8%, or another $4.00-$7.00 per carton of 200 cigarettes, making illegal cigarettes even cheaper. This will likely only drive more consumers to the illegal market, thereby exacerbating the illegal trade problem in the province and putting our businesses a further risk.

During the next few weeks you will be asked to sign a petition and two postcards. We strongly encourage you to sign these three documents so that the government can hear from people across the province. The petition will later be tabled at the Legislative Assembly by the OCSA and the postcards will be sent directly to the Ministers of Finance and Revenue. This will ensure that the politicians truly understand that we are all concerned with the potential impact of HST on our businesses.

Click here for postcard to be sent to the Hon. John Wilkinson

Click here for postcard to be sent to the Hon. Dwight Duncan

What you can do! click here to find out.

As noted by Dave Bryans, President of the Canadian Convenience Stores Association: “Let’s demonstrate to the Ontario government that we are very upset with the lack of understanding on this issue and they need to work with us on solutions until they can correct the uncontrolled growth of contraband in our province”

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Tourism Industry Association of Canada Names David Goldstein as New President and CEO

Read the press release from TIAC below:

Ottawa, March 10, 2010 – Stan Cook Jr., Chair of the Board of Directors of the Tourism Industry Association of Canada (TIAC), announced the appointment of David Goldstein as the new President and CEO, effective April 5, 2010.

“We are very pleased to welcome David to TIAC” said Mr. Cook. “David is a dynamic individual who brings a proven track record in advocacy, communications, strategic planning and team-building and we are confident David will help us take the organization and our advocacy agenda to the next level.”

Mr. Goldstein brings over 18 years of experience in the media industry, the last 12 years directly in senior advocacy roles.

“This is an exciting opportunity to help strengthen this vital sector of the Canadian economy,” said Mr. Goldstein.  “While Canada’s tourism sector faces many serious challenges in the short term, we also have the potential for tremendous opportunities.  I look forward to working with the strong professional team at TIAC, the Board, and our industry partners to build upon past achievements, and to help generate clear and tangible results for the Canadian tourism sector in the future.”

In introducing the new President and CEO, Mr. Cook expressed his gratitude to the Board for their help in the transition process, and acknowledged the enormous contribution of Wayne St. John, a former Chair of the Board of TIAC, who served as Interim President and CEO through the transition.

“Leadership transition can be difficult, but we were fortunate to have Wayne to provide a steady hand to help TIAC’s management team through the past few months, and we greatly appreciate his efforts as we work to ensure a seamless hand-off to our new CEO” Mr. Cook said.

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Duty Free in the News:

As per the recent DFNI article of March 2nd, 2010 regarding tobacco display areas in airport duty free shops in England, the FDFA will be monitoring this situation closely. Any global changes in tobacco display at duty free shops can have a direct impact on provincial tobacco display legislation.

http://www.dfnionline.com/article/UK-Travel-Retail-Forum-welcomes-government-tobacco-control-regulations-1859617.html

Duty Free News International:
The FDFA congratulates Philip Eckles of Aerrianta International on his recent appointment to the IAADFS Board of Directors. Please see article from the Moodie Report on this announcement.

IAADFS adds Philip Eckles to Board of Directors; re-elects three ...

Moodie Report

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Passport Canada Stakeholders’ Consultations

Passport Canada has requested that the FDFA participate in an upcoming Industry rountable discussions on passports, passport awareness campaigns and other issues affecting border identification. The FDFA has been actively working with Passport Canada for over four years to encourage our duty free customers to obtain the correct WHTI identification – especially their valid passports.

By 2012, Canada plans on extending the current 5 year passport term to 10 years. At the roundtable, the objective of the discussions are as follows:

• Facilitate a constructive two-way exchange of information concerning passport services with organizations that represent stakeholders who are directly affected by the passport program, concerned with the role of the passport in facilitating secure travel and the preservation of visa-free travel for Canadians, and/or share a similar clientele with Passport Canada;

• Raise awareness of the 10-year ePassport, including why its being adopted, how it works, what changes will be made to Passport Canada processes to issue ePassports, and the future benefits of the ePassport including its role in facilitating secure travel and automated border processing;

• Collect input and discuss ideas and proposals for improving services and addressing stakeholder issues, to help adjust the service offering while ensuring the basic passport remains affordable; and,

• Identify ways in which Passport Canada can strengthen its relationship with its stakeholders and work collaboratively in the future to, among other things, ensure Canadians are aware of the 10-year ePassport, understand how it works and its benefits, and use the best possible channels to access passport services.

More information on the ePassport is available at: http://www.ppt.gc.ca/publications/info.aspx?lang=eng

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New Member – Envi Reusable Bags

Envi Reusable Bags is a Division of Syfel Inc. and a new member to the FDFA since February 2010. Syfel Inc. has been in business for 15 years, and specializes in custom bags ranging from shopping bags to wine bags.

Location: Vill St. Laurent, Quebec
Business Phone Number: 514-448-8151
E-mail: jasbrysyl@videotron.ca
Contact: Sylvia Feldzamen

Sylvia plans on attending the upcoming 25th Anniversary Convention in Niagara. She looks forward to meeting everyone and developing new business relationships.

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Implementing Approved Destination Status from China

In an announcement of great significance to Canada’s tourism sector, the Government of Canada announced in December of 2009 that China has granted Approved Destination Status to Canada. This agreement, secured by Prime Minister Stephen Harper, will allow Chinese citizens to more easily obtain tourist visas to travel to Canada for leisure purposes, and will allow Canada to actively market its tourism products in China. The ADS agreement will also authorize Chinese travel agencies to market and promote leisure group tours for travel in Canada.

Significance of the Agreement
By 2020, China is expected to be the world’s largest outbound market, producing some 100 million outbound tourists. With an emerging middle class that is increasingly looking to spend its disposable income on travel and tourism, there is a tremendous opportunity for Canada to attract a significant flow of visitors across the Pacific.
The Conference Board of Canada estimates that an Approved Destination Status agreement will increase the annual rate of travel to Canada from China by as much as 50 per cent by 2015.

Next Steps
At present the Government of Canada, through the Canadian Mission in Beijing, is negotiating the Memorandum of Understanding that will govern the group leisure trade to Canada with the China National Tourism Administration (CNTA).

For its part, TIAC has been entrusted with developing a certification scheme for the receptive Canadian tour operators who will be participating in this new line of business.  TIAC is developing a Quality Assurance Program (QAP) that will set minimum conditions of entry and suggested best practices for Canadian receptive operators and their sub-contractors.

It is anticipated that at the upcoming G-20 Summit being held in Toronto, ON this June 2010 that all China ADS government contracts will be signed and completed. As such, the first official ADS Chinese tour groups will be expected into Canada in June/July 2010.

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Upcoming FDFA initiatives and Meetings

This upcoming May, the FDFA operator members will be meeting in Las Vegas, Nevada for their Semi-Annual Meeting and AGM. During this meeting, many issues and initiatives will be reviewed:

• National Bus Awareness Campaign
• National Collaborative Marketing Initiative
• 25th Anniversary Convention activities
• Upcoming Professional Development Workshops and Member Resources
• Government Relations Issues i.e. Internet/Mail Order, WHTI, Visitor Rebate Program, and so forth
• Updated Website – set for release this April 2010
• The FDFA Board of Director Elections
• Gold Standards 2010 Program Launch

If you have any questions regarding the FDFA’s strategic objectives or upcoming activities, please do not hesitate to contact Laurie Karson directly at lkarson@fdfa.ca.

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Future FDFA Communiqué Dates for 2010:

Upcoming FDFA Communiqué Release dates for 2010 are:

June 16th, 2010
September 8th, 2010
December 15th, 2010

If you have an idea for an article, or would like to tell us about something of interest to all duty free FDFA members, please contact Laurie Karson at lkarson@fdfa.ca.  Your feedback is important and valued.

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Gold Sponsors:

For comments and/or questions contact:

Laurie Karson – Executive Director
lkarson@fdfa.ca
www.frontierdfa.com