The fourth annual Hospitality Investment Conference Africa (HICA), scheduled to take place in Johannesburg from 31 October to 2 November 2010, will provide post World Cup answers for the hospitality sector in Africa.

This is according to Joop Demes, CEO of Pam Golding Hospitality, which has supported HICA since its inception in 2007.

“While it is true that the African hospitality sector has been affected significantly less by the global economic recession than that of any other continent, and the World Cup gave us an added advantage, there are now questions lingering in the minds of all active industry players on the continent.

“I have never seen such a buzz in the industry. People are looking for answers and I believe that is exactly what HICA will provide.”

He says international participants in HICA will provide delegates with the latest global hospitality barometer – an essential tool for gauging the current state of the industry and its investment options – while the African barometer will form the backbone of the conference.

“International hospitality companies and hotel groups view HICA as an essential platform for obtaining the latest industry information and identifying new business opportunities,” he says, “and annually attend similar conferences in Moscow, Berlin and Dubai. HICA is an essential event for anyone who is serious about doing business – and growing that business – in hospitality in Africa.”

Pam Golding Hospitality has now passed the R5 billion mark in terms of capital value of transactions facilitated in the Southern African hospitality industry.

HICA organiser – the Tourism Business Council of South Africa – says the two underlying themes for this year’s conference are sustainability and growth over the next decade.

One conference session will address the question ‘which new brands will survive in sub-Saharan Africa?’

Andrew McLachlan, Vice President Business Development, Africa and Indian Ocean Islands at the Rezidor Hotel Group believes the industry may see a shake-up in hotels changing owners or brands during the next 12 months.

“I don’t think South Africa will see too many new hotels in the short term as there is definitely an oversupply of rooms in certain class of hotels in select destinations.

“However, the industry has a lot more opportunities in Africa today than in the mature markets. The debt to equity ratios for funding new projects in Africa have remained pretty much the same compared to before, during and after the global economic crisis. But while it remains difficult to secure debt, the ability to grow our portfolio of brands across Africa remains very positive.”

He says Rezidor is one of the fastest growing hotel groups in the world, with a strong focus on growing in the emerging markets. “We are committing more time, energy and resources to Africa and we plan to double the speed of our growth across sub-Saharan Africa in the next 24 months. For this reason we won’t miss HICA 2010 for the world.”

An ardent array of local and international speakers has been lined up for HICA 2010. Industry members can obtain more information or register online at www.hica.co.za.

(Ends)

Released by: Martin van Niekerk, Junxion Communications
Tel 012 804 8812 / 083 447 4864

On behalf of: Kagiso Mosue, Tourism Business Council of South Africa
Tel 012 654 7525 / 082 716 8292

Date: 23 September 2010