International, African Hoteliers Meet İn Addis Ababa

Ethiopian Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn on Tuesday formally opened the African Hotels Investment Forum, which brings together a host of top African and international hoteliers.



"Sector-focused regional forums… are very important in creating a joint platform for all stakeholders in the sector to exchange ideas, technology, systems and partnerships," Desalegn declared at the forum's opening session.



The event, he added, "plays an important role in the promotion of the hospitality industry in Ethiopia and at the continental level in Africa."



The four-day forum is being attended by hotel management firms, international hotels and hoteliers, and African businessmen engaged in the hospitality sector who are interested in forming partnerships and exchanging ideas on best management practices.



"Over the past decade, Ethiopia has registered significant progress in socio-economic development," Desalegn said.



"We envisage a major transformation of the national economic structure, emphasizing investment in economic and social services and infrastructure," he added.



"In an effort to boost the tourism sector, my government has already started to put transformative and structural adjustments to the hospitality and tourism sector in Ethiopia," Desalegn asserted.



"A 'tourism transformation council' has been established at the national and regional levels to… ensure coordination of efforts by the government, private sector, communities and civic organizations," he explained.



Held under the banner 'Reaching New Heights,' the forum is being attended by representatives of world-class hoteliers, such as Starwood, Accor, Rezidor Hotel groups, and several other recognized hotel chains, such as Sheraton, Hilton and Radisson Blu, among others.



The first day of the forum saw a handful of deals finalized between management companies and African hoteliers for the construction of star-rated hotels.



This included one deal between Wyndham Hotel Group, the world's largest hotel company, and the Ramada Addis, a 136-room hotel nearing completion in the Ethiopian capital.



By Addis Getachew



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