The preliminary topics for discussion at the Arabian Hotel Investment Conference 2010 have been revealed following an advisory panel board meeting of more than 40 stakeholders last month.
Topics raised and discussed at the board meeting that will be covered at AHIC 2010 include:
• Managing stakeholders’ expectations of funding, equity and debt.
• Sustainable and environmental development.
• Learning the lessons of economic excesses and mitigating the impact of downturns.
• Operational challenges as investor and consumer behaviour changes.
• Evolving and survival strategies to maintain and increase profitability.
• A new economic outlook – financing and returns of investment.
The “resounding message” from the stakeholders was that Middle East hotels are “now over the worst of the economic crisis and are optimistic about the outlook for MENA in 2010”.
“Our message is clear – the hospitality industry is recovering. There is so much potential that needs to be unlocked in many markets across the region,” said Bench Events chairman Jonathan Worsley.
| Advertisement |
However, Worsley warned against becoming complacent about recovery.
“It is too easy to get carried away and become over-optimistic as we move into more favourable trading conditions. Therefore, it is vital that we take a pragmatic and realistic view of how the industry will develop over the next 10 years – and this is will be central to our discussions at AHIC 2010.
“It is likely that we will see the emergence of new business and finance models, which will present the industry with two options – evolve and adapt your mindset, or risk being left on the sidelines,” he said.
“The experts gathered at this meeting believe that the Middle East offers unprecedented prospects – not just because of its climate, accessibility and world-class infrastructure, but also because it is ideally positioned as we move from a negative economic climate to that of recovery. Additionally, the North Africa region will grow exponentially and offer significant returns on investment as the market matures – hence the theme of AHIC 2010: ‘Unlocking Opportunities in the Middle East and North Africa’,” continued Worsley.
“There is a focus, however, on projects which are sustainable otherwise the pipeline will just become a pipe dream,” he concluded.
The sixth annual AHIC conference being organised by Bench Events will be held on May 1-3, 2010 at Madinat Jumeirah in Dubai. Details: www.arabianconference.com
Search our database of more than 2,700 industry companies
