Global trends in the spotlight at HICA 2009 Tourism in South Africa is big business. Not only does it exceed gold as our number one export, it is credited with creating thousands of jobs across all skill levels and in all sectors of the hospitality industry. No wonder then, that the third international Hospitality Investment Conference (HICA 2009) to be held in Sandton later this year, is exciting so much interest.
“The conference, from 4 – 6 November, is all about sharing knowledge,” said Mmatsatsi Marobe CEO of the Tourism Business Council of South Africa which is hosting the event. “We will be bringing together industry leaders to share world trends, industry insights and experiences. One of our aims is to align the development of tourism in the region with international best practice,” she said. “We are all excited about the 2010 World Cup, but as an industry we need to be looking beyond the big events. We need to be showcasing Africa as a whole as a viable investment destination. This conference brings together industry leaders and emerging entrepreneurs from across the continent. The dialogue the conference encourages between government leaders and the private sector role players has far reaching implications for the formation of policies that will affect the hospitality industry,” Marobe said.
HICA 2009 will be putting an emphasis on Responsible Tourism as a means of creating better places both for people to live and to visit. With its close ties to sustainable and green tourism, Responsible Tourism is about tourists making environmentally friendly, sustainable, ethical and respectful choices and minimising the negative impact of tourism.
“Delegates will have a chance to discover how Responsible Tourism is good for business on all levels,” Marobe said. “Tourism is a commodity and a resource that must be protected. Responsible Tourism is a global phenomenon which everyone in the hospitality industry needs to be aware of.”
As a measure of the success of the conference, an impressive 85% of the delegates who attended HICA 2008 have clearly expressed their interest in attending this year's meeting.
Current sponsors of HICA 2009 include FNB, the Johannesburg Tourism Company and top hotel groups IFA, Rezidor and the Golding Hotel Investment Consultants.
Need to know? Venue: The Sandton Sun, Sandton, Johannesburg. For more information about HICA 2009, surf to www.hica.co.za or contact Kagiso Mosue at TBCSA on tel: +27 (0)12 654 7525 or kagiso@tbcsa.travel
Last chance for HICA AWARDS 2009 nominations - Closing date is Monday 31st August
Nominations for the annual HICA Awards have already started to come in from both local and regional industry and based on the interest so far, the 2009 HICA Awards looks to be highly competitive. If you haven’t taken the opportunity, nominations close on Monday 31 August – so use these last few days to make sure you are in the running.
The HICA Awards were launched in 2007 to complement the annual Hospitality Investment Conference Africa and are now in their third year. Four categories will recognized in these year’s awards – The Best New Hotel Development, Excellence in Travel and Tourism Reporting, Tourism Business Leadership Awards and an award for the industry’s Upcoming Mover and Shaker.
The awards, which are coordinated and adjudicated by Grant Thornton Strategic Solutions, have previously recognized industry greats such as Hans Enderle of the City Lodge Group and the innovation and excellence of products such as the Gondwana Desert Collection in Namibia, the Protea Fire & Ice Hotel in the Western Cape, and Lebo’s Backpackers and Bicycle Tours from Soweto.
“Our vision with the HICA Awards is to showcase and promote the products and people in our industry who inspire us all to go further, work harder and achieve a world class quality standard in Africa,” says “Mmatšatši Marobe the Chief Executive Officer of the Tourism Business Council of South Africa. “This year we are looking not only at new hotels and innovation in the industry, but also recognising the industry leaders and the potential leaders of tomorrow.”
In addition the awards also recognise the importance of travel and tourism journalism. “There are not many awards which particularly single out journalism that covers travel and tourism sector and we feel that this is long overdue.
Editorial expression of tourism experiences is probably the most powerful form of marketing available to our industry after word of mouth. Finding and rewarding those journalists who understand how to explore, write and become advocates of tourism experiences is so important for our industry,” adds Marobe. The 2008 winner in this category was Helen Ueckermann of Sake Rapport.
Nomination forms can be downloaded from www.hica.co.za and can be emailed to Mr Pila Rulashe on prulashe@gt.co.za or faxed back to him on Fax:011-322-4767 / 086-570-4148, or delivered to Grant Thornton, 137 Daisy Street, Sandown, 2146.
Winners will be announced during the Hospitality Investment Conference Africa on 4th to 6th November 2009 at the Sandton Sun Hotel in Johannesburg. Those wishing to attend this premier investment conference to gain valuable insight from leading industry role players such as Radissons Blu, FNB, Southern Sun, Pam Golding Hospitality, Hilton, Accor, Group RCI and many other, please register on www.hica.co.za or contact Ms Zelda Coetzee on Tel: 021 762 1442.
The third annual, Hospitality Investment Conference Africa (HICA) has confirmed an impressive speaker and topic list with new and unique insights into some key African destinations, as excitement builds for the event due to take place from 4-6 November at the Sandton Sun.
Three specialised breakaway sessions have been planned looking at Mozambique, Nigeria and Angola in terms of specific African insights. These three emerging African destinations have a lot to offer the international traveller and there have been some excellent success stories and case studies to convince new investors to seriously consider the future in these countries. Each of these sessions is available for delegates to attend on Thursday 5th of November.
From Mozambique delegates will be able to interact with Mr Adrian Frey, MD of Club Mozambique a renowned expert on investment in Mozambique who publishes a regular newsletter on the various investment opportunities in the country. The Mozambique government has made tourism a priority sector in the country and on the panel HICA is looking forward to the participation of Mozambique’s Principal Secretary of Tourism, Ms Francine Matsinha, along with key on the ground experts to answer investor questions. Through this session delegates will find out why Mozambique has emerged to become one of the most dynamic tourism opportunities in Sub-Saharan Africa – a country which provides a heady mix of Portuguese, Arab and African influences, friendly people, world-renowned beaches, World Heritage sites, interesting colonial architecture and some of the best yacht charter, scuba diving and fishing in the world. Mozambique is not only blessed with the strongest coastal assets in southern Africa but also remains a relatively unexplored country with true wilderness areas and opportunities for the development of a thriving nature and wildlife based tourism sector abound. Find out about foreign investment in Mozambique which does not make a distinction based on investor origin, and does not limit foreign ownership or control of companies. Mozambique currently ranks as 18th in Africa in the Ease of Doing Business index 2010 and No.5 in terms of protecting investors.
From Nigeria delegates will be exposed to a panel moderated by Trevor Ward of W-Hospitality Group – a well known hospitality investment advisory company specialising in Nigeria and West Africa. The session consists of experts who are already operating in Africa’s most populated country including Mr Ernest Oji of Southern Sun and Mr Michael O’Malley of Westport Property Group. While statistics and formal information is a challenge for this country at this stage, the on-the-ground experience shows that tourism is a growing sector for Nigeria. Business tourism accounts for the largest share of the pie, but event based tourism and niche leisure and cultural opportunities are itching for development. Nigeria boasts some excellent festivals, cultural and natural attractions and apart from Lagos and the capital city Abuja, more of the surrounding country areas are available for tourism opportunities. Nigeria currently ranks as 13th in Africa in the Ease of Doing Business index 2010 and No.8 in terms of protecting investors and the panel will be eager to answer any questions from potential investors.
From Angola top government panellists will be available in the form of the Vice Minister of Tourism, Dr Paulino Baptista and the Director of International Exchange from the Department of Tourism Dr Januario Marra. They will be joined by Mr Andrew McLachlan, Vice President of Hotel Development for Rezidor and Mr Kevin Fick of El Dorado Marketing Services for on the ground experts with experience in Angolan tourism to provide some unique insights into this multi-faceted African destination. The session will be moderated by Mr Jorge Jover, CEO of MITC Investimentos SARL, one of the leading private economic groups in Angola. Angola boasts a magnificent tropical beach line of more than 1,600 km and several national game parks which have all been developed to boost tourism figures for the country and are ripe for investment. Angola has also recently approved a draft law to de-bureaucratise and simplify all administrative procedures related to private investment. Angola currently ranks as 33rd in Africa in the Ease of Doing Business index 2010 but a promising tied 8th position with Nigeria in terms of protecting investors.
African insights continue with a session on Boundless Southern Africa’s development opportunities. The session is focused on tourism and hospitality investment opportunities within the Transfronteir Conservation Areas within Southern Africa. The speakers in the session include leading experts on TFCAs from Lesotho, Swaziland, Zimbabwe and South Africa. A conference focused on African tourism and hospitality is HICA 2009. For those who have not yet registered for this conference, log onto www.hica.co.za and book your place now. Alternatively you can contact Zelda Coetzee on 021 762 1442 to book your place.
Released by: Beryl Eichenberger – Hippo Communications beryl@hippocommunications.com
On behalf of: Mmatšatši Marobe – CEO of TBCSA