Now in its 14th year, The Hotel Show 2013, to be held on Sept. 28-30 at Dubai World Trade Centre, will once more maintain its position as the leading hospitality and supplies show in the MENA region, bridging the gap between industry leaders, investors and stakeholders to look forward and work towards the next twenty years of growth for the UAE and wider Middle East. The three-day program will cover diverse topics such as security, architecture and design, investment, sustainability, emerging markets and leisure, as well as the latest trends and forecasts for the leisure and hospitality industry. This year, a new feature at the event is the Vision Conference, with the region's most prominent and knowledgeable professionals from the leisure and hospitality industry. With six key note speeches from some of the industry's strongest leaders and experts such as Jeff Strachen, formally of Marriott, and global architect Steven Miller, FAIA, RIBA, thirty sessions involving heads of industry from Jumeirah Group, Scotland Yard and Facebook and open networking sessions, the Vision Conference is also expected to reveal key trends and forecasts. To be interviewed on Day 2, Helal Saeed Almarri, Director General of DTCM, is expected to go into further detail of the significance of the tourism and hospitality industry in Dubai's Tourism Vision for 2020, and the importance of industry collaboration to achieve the broad objective of welcoming 20 million visitors per year by 2020. He said: “2012 saw us achieve the landmark figure of 10 million visitors for the first time, and now we have been set the ambitious but achievable target of doubling this by 2020. In order to achieve this target we must harness the collective power of our partners in the tourism and hospitality industry, and I look forward to discussing the Vision with many of them during The Hotel Show.” Commencing the conference program on 28th with a keynote speech on where the hospitality and digital industries are heading, Alexander Barder, Regional Director of Business Development MEA, SABRE will share his insights on the growth of digital technology from marketing and promotional benefits, as well as revenue management and more efficient communication between hotels, their partners and their guests via digital and social media channels. — SG
