Prior to the September event, 40 hoteliers and investors gathered for the AHIC 2021 Advisory Board in Dubai, sharing "problems, solutions and a roadmap for the future," said AHIC founder Jonathan Worsley. Photo Credit: MEED
Arabian & African Hospitality Investment Conference (AHIC) is preparing to return in-person from 20-22 September this year, at Madinat Jumeirah in Dubai.
Parked under the theme, Rise Together, AHIC will see four major hospitality investment communities from the Middle East and Africa under one roof: the Arabian Hospitality Investment Conference (AHIC), Saudi Arabia Hospitality Investment Conference (SHIC), Africa Hotel Investment Forum (AHIF) and the Global Restaurant Investment Forum (GRIF).
Prior to the event, 40 hoteliers and investors gathered for the AHIC 2021 Advisory Board in Dubai's The Emirates Academy of Hospitality Management last month, to discuss the content of this 17th edition of the AHIC.
Twenty of the region's F&B names also gathered at a separate meeting to integrate the voice of the restaurant community into the September event.
Jonathan Worsley, founder of AHIC, said: “By the time AHIC opens in September, our delegates will have navigated 18 months of virtual meetings and business conducted behind screens. The Advisory Board provided a mirror into the unmatched value of face-to-face networking, with hotel owners and operators beginning the AHIC conversation; sharing their problems, suggesting solutions, and ultimately coming together to develop a roadmap for the future.”
One such conversation by Philip Wooller, area director – Middle East and Africa, STR, dwelled on data — especially since performance and pipeline analysis critical will be critical to planning future investments, as the world evolves deeper into digital.
In a comparison of March 2021 to the same month in 2019, Wooler observed that China leads the way in hotel recovery, followed by the Middle East, Australia and US.
Statistics also show the Middle East is 66% back to pre-Covid levels, with Dubai arguably being "the biggest success story globally, where the uber luxury segment has rebounded beyond expectation; hotels are commanding rates higher than in 2008, some of them well above pre-pandemic figures. Dubai’s commendable handling of the pandemic has clearly cemented its reputation as one of the safest cities in the world," said Wooler.
Apart from addressing these numbers, access to capital; mitigation of risk for owners, operators and consumers; changing demands of travellers, the impact of reduced corporate travel; the acceleration of digitalisation; and the evolution of sustainability will also be part of the event agenda.
These will take place over macro-economic plenary sessions, live debates between leading owners and operators and keynote speakers, including Accor chairman and CEO Sébastien Bazin.
"We will also have more interactive content, specific breakout sessions for each community and prescheduled one-to-one meetings, enabling each delegate to create their own highly personalised event," said Jennifer Pettinger-Haines, managing director Middle East for Bench — the organiser of AHIC in partnership with business intelligence platform MEED.
For James Edmondson, director and head of global development at Jumeirah Group who also attended May's Advisory Board gathering, the in-person event cannot come soon enough.
“It was evident from the positive energy at the Advisory Board how much we had all longed to reconnect in person with our peers across the region. We see huge potential for further digitalisation in our sector and believe it will play a vital role in helping investors and operators alike come out of this crisis stronger, better and more successful than ever.”