MENAFN Press  June 02, 2009

(MENAFN Press) naseba, a leading business information company that organized the Kingdom Expansion Congress earlier this month, is set to host another inaugural summit focusing on the hospitality sector development in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. The Kingdom Hotel Expansion and Investment Summit is taking place on the 6th – 7th June 2009 in Riyadh. The two day summit provides a business networking platform and knowledge sharing environment for government officials and industry professionals in the travel, tourism and hospitality sectors.

With government backed initiatives to expand the already existing hotel and travel facilities, the Kingdom is quickly developing its tourism infrastructure towards its long-term goal of promoting Saudi Arabia as an exceptional tourism destination in the GCC. Under the new program visitors from all over the world will be able to explore Saudi Arabia. The Summit is designed to attract investments and promote the Kingdom hospitality market which until now has been relatively untapped by both regional and international industry players.

In a recent presentation, HRH Prince Sultan bin Salman bin Abdul Aziz Al-Saud, President and Chairman of the Board, Supreme Commission of Tourism and Antiquities, predicted a long term vision for the country's hospitality sector that estimates visitor numbers to nearly double from 47 million in 2008 to 88 million by 2020, while the number of hotel rooms would rise from 117,097 to 254,310 apartment units would increase from 101,544 to 185,853 - and employment in the industry is set to grow from 1.1 million to 1.5 million. To meet the expected domestic demand, the country needs additional capital brought by regional and international investments to continue the development of the Kingdom.

The summit will feature distinguished key note speakers and guests who will discuss investment opportunities in Saudi Arabia, growth and development strategies in domestic tourism, the balance between operations and infrastructure and the future trend of sustainable green hotels:

• Jean Paul Herzog, President (MENA), Hilton Hotels and Resorts

• Selim El Zyr, Co-Founder and CEO, Rotana Group of Hotels

• Tarik Nabulsi, Deputy CEO, Elaf Group of Companies

• Musaed A. Al-Said, CEO, Al Khozama Management Company

The Summit will also present the first ever hospitality awards in Saudi Arabia. The awards will reward excellence, innovation and the exceptional milestones of the region’s, and in particular the Kingdom’s, hospitality landscape. They will also recognize the leaders in hospitality industry who, through a combination of leadership skill and incisive vision, have advanced their organization’s strategic goals. Categories include:

• Best tourism initiative of the year

• Best hotel brand of the Middle East

• Best hotel design of the year

• Best innovative concept in hospitality

• Excellence in customer service in hospitality

• Excellence in Islamic and Shari’ah compliance

• Employer of the year

• Excellence in hospitality leadership

• General Manager of the year

Fabien Faure, Managing Director, naseba Group, commented:

“The domestic tourism in Saudi Arabia offers massive growth opportunities. There is a need to appeal to nationals who usually travel abroad. The modernization of infrastructure, the launch of new hotels and the development of mega tourism projects will encourage and incentivize Saudi citizens to visit tourist cities within their own country, and increase the importance of the domestic tourist industry within the economy. At the Kingdom Hotel Expansion and Investment Summit we will provide an overview of the hospitality sector in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and discuss future trends in traveler’s habits.”