As a result of the current political uncertainty in the region, the Board of MEADFA has decided that the 2017 MEADFA Conference will not go ahead in Beirut as planned.

The event will be rescheduled to take place in the first quarter of 2018, at a date and venue to be confirmed shortly.

Delegate fees will be reimbursed in full to all registered delegates, unless they instruct MEADFA to retain their payment against participation at the conference in early 2018.

The MEADFA President, Haitham al Majali, said: “This has not been an easy decision to make, especially given the wonderful support we have received from our friends and partners in Lebanon during the planning for this year’s event. However, the first responsibility of the MEADFA Board with regard to our Conference is to guarantee the security of our delegates, and we feel that the current situation obliges us, with the greatest regret, to take this step.

“On behalf of MEADFA, I would like to extend my sincere and heartfelt thanks to His
Excellency Mr Avedis Guidanian, Minister of Tourism for the Republic of Lebanon,
for his unwavering support of this event, which I hope will return to Lebanon in the
near future. We would also like to thank our friends and partners at Beirut Duty Free
and Aphrodite Duty Free for all they have done in helping us plan the Conference.
We understand that this decision will be a considerable disappointment to them, but
hope that we will have the opportunity to work together again in future.

“I would also like to thank all our sponsors for the MEADFA Conference 2017 and
hope that we will be able to rely on their support as we go forward. Also, I must thank
our world-class line-up of speakers, who I very much hope to see at a future
MEADFA Conference. Finally, my thanks to the nearly 400 delegates who had
planned to attend this event. We hope to see you at the rescheduled MEADFA
Conference early next year.

“Important though the MEADFA Conference is, both to the regional duty free & travel
retail industry and to MEADFA itself, our first thoughts now are with the people of
Lebanon, and with the stability and prosperity of our region. We have the utmost faith
in the resilience of our people, of our businesses and of our industry, as we face this
latest challenge.”