Cannes Day 1: Recession? What recession?

Well I made it to Cannes - just. Getting up at 2:30am never will be my idea of fun, even if the cabbie who took me to the airport seemed to think that "by the time you get there, get a couple of drinks down you, you'll be well away." Was far too tired to explain to him at the time that I was actually expected to do a bit of work whilst I'm here - it's not just one big piss-up, you know! (Well, not quite).

So it's now 5:30pm and in fact, I haven't touched a drop all day. Which anybody who knows me well will probably be surprised by, but it's been exhausting work, trying to get around to seeing everyone I want to - so exhausting that I even just turned down a cold glass of coffee-flavoured Baileys from Diageo- and I LOVE Baileys.

The conference itself so far has impressed me actually, both in its size and in the number of exhibitors here. There are 107 wine and spirit exhibitors in all - all the big names and some smaller ones to boot. Like Irish brand Bunratty Winery, which claims to have made the first legally produced moonshine (I haven't had a try of that yet either; I'm no expert but I assume mixing work with moonshine will only end in some sort of disaster).

There is a really positive mood about the place too. Inside the conference centre, with its swish stalls stuffed with premium products and luxury brands, you'd be forgiven for forgetting all about the credit crunch.

I certainly would have done, had it not been one of the main topics of conversation throughout the afternoon. Nobody denies that world events are having or will have an impact on the bottom line, but the more premium the brand, the less it seems to bother them here because, as one exhibitor I was talking to pointed out, "the people with money will still pay over the odds for a decent bottle of their favourite tipple - crunch or no crunch".

True, but I can't help but feel that the travel retail sector is in danger of a double-whammy dose of misfortune if the current financial situation continues to bite: people might pay over the odds for a bottle of whisky or wine, but will they still be willing to do the same for the holidays that put travel-retail brands in front of them in the first place?

On that note, I'm off for the evening now, all that travelling at silly hours has left me shattered. So I'm off to check into my hotel now. Possibly via that Diageo stand...

Claire Weekes
Editor
TalkingDrinks.com

• Harpers Says...