JEDDAH — The biggest food, hotel and hospitality event in Saudi Arabia is set to be held on April 13-16, 2015 at the Jeddah Center for Forums and Events. The 20th edition is held to replicate the significant growth and development that Saudi Arabia's food and tourism sectors are experiencing. Food, hotel and hospitality Arabia 2015 will witness participation from importers, distributors, F&B managers, hotel and restaurant purchase managers, food service professionals, chefs, purchasers, trade bodies, hoteliers, restaurateurs, caterers, F&B directors, hospitality interiors and wholesalers. The exhibition will also provide opportunities to the Saudi business community in these vital industry sectors to further expand businesses which they can source from international companies from Bahrain, China, Cyprus, Egypt, India, Indonesia, Italy, Jordan, Lebanon, Malaysia, Morocco, Pakistan, South Africa, Spain, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Turkey and USA alongside will be leading Saudi companies. “This year's event aims at being the right channel allowing both vendors/suppliers and hospitality professionals to come together to tap mutually beneficial business opportunities,” said Zahoor Siddique, Vice President of Al Harithy Company for Exhibitions (ACE). He further said this exhibition is held annually to keep the pace with the demands of the country's burgeoning hospitality market. He also noted that the focus of food, hotel and hospitality Arabia 2015 is to provide an unmatched sourcing platform for buyers and sellers of hospitality supplies and services. According to the latest studies, Saudi Arabia will continue to lead the region's food sector accounting for 59% of the total consumption up until 2017. On the other hand, Food sales in Saudi Arabia are expected to be worth almost $70 billion by 2016, with food consumption growing at a CAGR of 2.6 percent from 2012 to 2017. The Saudi Hospitality sector has registered a 127% growth over the last 10 years. With the rising business tourism and the exponential expansion of the hospitality industry, the market is expected to increase by a further 83% in the coming years. The exhibition will also host the annual Jeddah Open Cooking Competition, sponsored by Nestle, displaying culinary skills of international and local chefs. Each evening also includes themed cooking demonstrations that will make this a unique gastronomic experience for visitors. Art de Table contest will also be held as a concurrent event. Apart from this, this year's show will host the 8th Exhibition of Agribusiness Industries of the OIC Member States as international experts and economists from the OIC, the Saudi Ministry of Agriculture, and major international corporations will present papers on the world food shortage and offer suggested solutions, case studies and success stories. — SG
