His Highness Shaikh Ahmed Bin Saeed Al Maktoum, President, Dubai’s Department of Civil Aviation and Chairman & CEO, Emirates Group has confirmed his ongoing patronage of the fourth Arabian Hotel Investment Conference, according to conference organiser, Jonathan Worsley. He also indicated that delegate registration looks set to break the 1,000 barrier mark, up 100% in four years.
Worsley said that the three-day hospitality investment forum will again see the ‘who’s who’ of the global hotel investment industry thrash out the hot topics that are driving the region’s bullish sector.
“We are thrilled to have His Highness Shaikh Ahmed confirm his support for the fourth year in a row, a true sign that AHIC is cemented as the significant event on the region’s hospitality investment calendar,” Worsley said.
“Industry research has revealed that AHIC has become known as the place where introductions are made that enable new ventures and business opportunities in the sector to seed and grow.
“We believe that the surge in attendance over the past four years stands as a sign of AHIC’s acceptance as the premier event for region’s hospitality investment sector! We expect to pass 1,000 delegates in 2008, up from just over 500 in AHIC’s inaugural year in 2004.”
Worsley added that the industry too is expected to grow by 4.4% per annum in real terms between now and 2016, with Middle East travel and tourism investment estimated to reach US$39.4 billion during the same period (1)
The Arabian Hotel Investment Conference will run from May 3-5, 2008 at Dubai’s Madinat Jumeirah Convention Centre and is jointly organised by The Bench and Meed.
AHIC 2008 sees the introduction of a first-day Summit session. India has been selected as the Summit’s flagship topic.
“India’s hospitality sector is fast gaining gear to accommodate international interest, both in business and leisure sectors, in a country poised for rapid growth,” said Worsley.
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He said that demand for upscale hotel rooms in India is on the rise, and so are prices.
“Recent figures bear out this optimism with room rates in the major metropolitan centres rising nearly 40% this year over 2006, while global names such as Shangri-La, Four Seasons, Marriott and Hilton have all announced major expansion plans for India,” he concluded.
Details of AHIC can be found on www.arabianconference.com, including an early-bird booking offer.
Platinum sponsors of the 2008 event include: Bawadi, IFA Hotels & Resorts, Jones Lang LaSalle Hotels and The Rezidor Hotel Group.
Gold Sponsors include Accor SA ME, Davis Langdon LLP, DLF Hotels, Emaar Hospitality Group, Emirates Airline, Fairmont Raffles Hotels International, Godwin Austen Johnson, Golden Tulip MENA Region, Group RCI, GuestInvest, Hamilton Hotel Partners, Hilton Hotels, Horwath HTL, HVS International, iBAHN, IHG, Interval International, Istithmar World, Jumeirah, Kempinski Hotels, Langham Hotels International Limited, Marriott International, Morgan Stanley, Mövenpick Hotels & Resorts, Northcourse, OBM International, Rakeen, RCI Global Vacation Network, Rotana, Shaza Hotels, Sidley Austin, Starwood Hotels & Resorts, Strategic Solutions, Taj Hotel Resorts & Palaces, TRI Hospitality Consulting, Vision Hospitality Asset Management, WATG, West LB and Wyndham Hotel Group.
About the organisers:
The Bench
The Bench, a global partner with Smith Travel Research (STR), is a market leader in providing daily, weekly and monthly benchmarking data to more than 34,000 hotels worldwide. As the leading provider of online real-time benchmarking data, The Bench brings accurate hotel performance statistics to the market at an unparalleled speed. With the flexibility and ease of creating an unlimited number of competitive sets, configure reports at will in a multiple of formats and access all information on a 24 hour basis, The Bench users are able to maximise their RevPAR penetration by measuring their daily performance against their competitors.
Jonathan Worsley, Chairman of The Bench is one of the organisers and founders of the International Hotel Investment Forum held each year in Berlin. In 2005, he was responsible for launching the successful Arabian Hotel Investment Conference. Worsley sits as an advisor to the World Travel & Tourism Council which
represents many of the leading companies operating worldwide in the travel and tourism industry www.thebench.com
[email protected] tel: +44 (0)1244 341956
[email protected] tel: +44 208 297 2053
MEED
MEED (Middle East Economic Digest) is internationally recognised as providing essential information for anyone doing business in, or with, the Middle East and North Africa. MEED now attracts over 70,000 individual readers each week, across 70 countries worldwide. MEED Conferences is part of the leading information brand in the Middle East working to provide delegates with the very latest business sensitive information. For more than a decade, MEED Conferences has organised events attended by senior government officials and thousands of international business people. The conference series is aimed at companies active or seeking business in the markets of the Middle East. MEED is well established as the source of strategic and accurate regional information placing it in a unique position to bring together high-calibre speakers on + 9714 368 1949 www.meed.com
