Africa Travel Association Congress in Ethiopia Underscores Theme of Branding Afric

Ethiopia: Africa Hotel Investment Forum Returns to Addis for 2015

12th January 2015

Bench Events, the organiser of the Africa Hotel Investment Forum (AHIF) today announced that the conference will return to Addis Ababa in 2015. It will take place again at the Sheraton Hotel on 30th September and 1st October.

There has been much speculation about location of the next AHIF, after more than a dozen governments sent delegations to last year’s conference and a variety of African tourism ministers made public statements about wanting to attract the event to their capital cities. The appeal of AHIF is that it is attended by the highest calibre group of international hotel investors of any conference in Africa and that is an important audience for governments seeking inward investment to develop one of the most important economic sectors, Travel & Tourism. According to the World Travel & Tourism Council, 8.5% of Africa’s GDP and 6.9% of jobs are attributable to Travel & Tourism and the industry is forecast to grow across Africa at 4.9% per annum for the whole of the coming decade.

Matthew Weihs, Managing Director, Bench Events, said: “AHIF 2014 was such a great success that we felt compelled to return. We were honoured by the presence of Ethiopia’s Prime Minister; we were inspired by the accomplishments of Haile Gebrselassie, one of the world’s greatest long distance runners; we were impressed by the media attendance (76 journalists on day one) and we were delighted by the level of interest shown by the business community, with a record number of delegates, sponsors and many of the major global hotel brands announcing new initiatives and hotel openings.”

Addis Ababa is an appealing destination for commercial reasons too. The city has a shortage of internationally-branded hotel rooms (fewer than 1,000 according to W Hospitality) and increasing demand. Ethiopia’s economy is growing at more than 7% per year and is forecast to be the third largest economy in Africa by 2015. Addis Ababa now has the fourth largest international diplomatic community in the world, partly because it is the seat of the Africa Union, which was launched in 2002.

Samuel Tafese, President, Sunshine Business said: “Considering the considerable interest from other countries to host the Africa Hotel Investment Forum, to have secured the event for a second year is a huge opportunity for Ethiopia. Sunshine Business were delighted to sponsor the event last year and look forward to supporting again. To have the chance to welcome international money and expertise to our country should not be missed.”

The Africa Hotel Investment Forum (AHIF)
AHIF is the premier hotel investment conference in Africa, attracting many prominent international hotel owners, investors, financiers, management companies and their advisers. It is organised by Bench Events (www.benchevents.com) which is known for producing, alongside Questex Travel + Hospitality and MEED Events, several top-level hotel conferences around the world including Berlin (IHIF), Dubai (AHIC), Istanbul (CATHIC) and Moscow (RHIC).
Sponsors of AHIF 2015 are: ACCOR, Carlson Rezidor Hotel Group, Hilton Worldwide, Mangalis Hotel Group and Marriott International as Platinum Sponsors; Areen Hospitality Design, Colliers International, Hotel Partners Africa, HVS, Movenpick Hotels & Resorts, Starwood Hotels and Resorts International, STR Global and Wyndham Hotel Group as Gold Sponsors.

Ethiopian Airlines, the fastest growing African carrier, has announced its plan to launch flight services to Kuwait and Riyadh starting June 2, 2008. The flights will operate Addis Ababa-Riyadh-Kuwait-Addis Ababa twice weekly on Mondays and Thursdays with the return flights on Tuesdays and Fridays. As a direct route to Riyadh and Kuwait from the Sub Sahara Africa, this new service provides convenient connections for passengers originating from various points in Africa. Passengers will save trip time from points of origin to destination as well as transit time at the Addis Ababa Bole International Airport.

Currently Ethiopian operates 35 flights weekly to six destinations in the Middle East; namely - Abu Dhabi, Bahrain, Beirut, Dubai, Jeddah and Sana'a. The introduction of two additional weekly flights to Riyadh and Kuwait will further strengthen Ethiopian's foot prints in the Middle East.

Busera Awel, Ethiopian Vice President Commercial said, "We are pleased that our enhanced presence will provide travelers, particularly those in the Sub- Sahara Africa, with more convenient access to the Middle East, and we are also confident that the new link will stimulate increased exchange of commerce and tourism traffic between the Middle East and the African continent."

Riyadh and Kuwait are among the fastest growing cities in the Middle East. Riyadh is the largest city and capital of Saudi Arabia located in the heart of the Arabian Peninsula, while Kuwait, the capital of the State of Kuwait, is situated on the coastal region of the Persian Gulf.

Ethiopian Airlines was founded on 30th December 1945, initially with the contractual assistance of TWA. The first planes used by the Airline were five DC-3's. The first international scheduled service was inaugurated between Addis Ababa and Cairo on April 8, 1946.

Ethiopian Airlines, www.ethiopianairlines.com, one of the largest and fastest growing airlines in Africa made its maiden flight to Cairo in 1946. The airline currently serves 50 destinations around the globe, 30 of which are in Africa. The addition of services to Kuwait and Riyadh will bring the total number of the Airline's international destinations to 52.

Ethiopian will be the first carrier to operate the Dreamliner-B787 in Africa, the Middle East and Europe.

In 2006 and 2007 Ethiopian has earned three different awards respectively from the African Aviation Journal, the African Times/USA, and the Government of Ghana for its best performance in the commercial air transport industry.