24 TOURISM
Sanctity of Truth
Friday, September 12, 2014
Nigeria ranks top in hotel development Stories by Andrew Iro Okungbowa
W
ith the city of Addis Baba, Ethiopia set to host this year’s edition of the Africa Hotel Investment Forum (AHIF), the attention of the world would be on Africa as the forum focuses on growth in the development of the hospitality sector. The yearly conference which is schedule to hold between September 29 and October 1, 2014, at Sheraton Hotel, Addis Ababa, is coming on the heels of a recent survey with Nigeria topping the list of 10 top rated countries with the highest numbers of hotel development in the pipeline in Africa while Ethiopia ranks second from bottom. According to the organisers of the forum, Bench Events, the theme for this year is ‘Reaching New Heights’, with focus on the geopolitical and economic climate across the whole continent and the latest developments in the hotel sector. Big issues, such as the importance of conserving Africa’s tourism assets and connecting each of the African countries through decent and new infrastructure, the feasibility of investing successfully in Africa in general and in hospitality will be explored in a series of panel discussions led by a group of experts on each topic among others would attract the attention of the people expected at the event. Since its debut few years ago, the forum has always positioned itself as a veritable forum bringing together top-level executives from all areas of the industry including investors, hotel owners, financiers, developers, brands, operators, lawyers, advisors, architects and senior government officials – all with one common purpose: to do business on the continent. And this year’s gathering is not an exception as top rated experts from across the continent and globe are already lined up to lead discussions at the occasion. According to the programme highlight, areas for discussion include networking round tables share insights between colleagues on specific topics while also making new business contacts; ministers panel – learn how the public sector is creating the legislative framework to support investments; hardtalk – with Marriott and Protea in the wake of their game changing deal; and targeting the international
Sheraton Hotel, Addis Baba, venue of the forum
traveler - session analysing strategies for supporting connectivity and moving towards an Africa of ‘OpenSkies.’ For Ethiopia, this forum couldn’t have come at a better time, therefore, according to the organisers, focus would be on the country’s hospitality sector, which yearns for more rooms and presence of the international brands and this follow is expected to address this situation as attention is drawn to the need for investors to look in the direction of the east Africa country, host the headquarters of the African Union (AU). The capital city, Addis Baba currently has two international brands – Sheraton and Radisson Blu. Also, a recent research by the Awash International Bank projected that demand for hotel nights in Ethiopia in 2015 will be 1.3 million, rising to over 3 million by 2020. The hospitality sector in Africa still has room for more development following a
TABLE 1 2014 Hotel Chain Development Pipelines in Africa Top 10 Countries by Number of Rooms Hotels Rooms
Average Size
1
Nigeria
40
6,614
165
2
Morocco
29
4,828
166
3
Egypt
15
4,703
314
4
Algeria
15
3,172
211
5
Libya
7
2,205
315
6
Tunisia
7
1,541
220
7
South Africa
9
1,293
144
8
Ghana
6
1,080
180
9
Ethiopia
6
990
165
10
Senegal
5
914
183
research report by W. Hospitality, which revealed the state of hotels development in the pipeline across the country. Ethiopia ranks second from the bottom with six international brands supplying 990 rooms in the
pipeline while Nigeria tops the list of the top rated countries with 29 hotels (4,828 rooms) followed by Morocco with 29 hotels supplying 4, 828 while Egypt has 15 supplying 4, 703 and then Algeria with 15 supplying 4, 703. With Ethiopia beginning to attract more business and tourists with more than seven percent per year and projected to be the third largest economy in Africa by 2015, the managing director of Bench Events, Matthew Weihs said the forum coming to Ethiopia is an opportunity to take a closer look at the country, which is opening doors to investors and others. ‘‘It is primed to take a closer look at the market and keen to develop it,’’ said Weihs, adding that “at that moment, the expertise and the money will be in town; the question for me is: how and to what extent will the local community respond to this opportunity?”
… Haile Gebrselassie headlines South Africa museum celebrates Africa Hotel Investment Forum Mandela Nelson, Mahatma Gandhi
E
thiopia’s ‘homeboy’ and former Olympic and world athletics champion, Haile Gebrselassie has been confirmed as a keynote speaker at the Africa Hotel Investment Forum (AHIF). The former world champion who is now a successful businessman with interests in different aspects of the economy including tourism where he is reputed to own three resorts in Ethiopia, is expected to share his life experience and his thoughts on Ethiopia’s potential as a tourism destination. Bench Events, managing director, Matthew Weihs, is pleased by this development and described it as a big boost for the event. “We are delighted to be able to welcome the
world and Olympic champion Haile Gebrselassie as a speaker at our conference. Gebrselassie is a name synonymous with excellence on the athletics field and it is always fascinating to hear how a sportsperson’s motivation, dedication and vision enable them to transit to business.’’ “To actually have the opportunity to hear the journey and commitments he has made in his lifetime will be an honour. When you visit Addis Ababa it is obvious by the numerous billboards with his face on them that he holds great sway with the local communities so to hear more of his thoughts on the future of the tourism industry will be very interesting,’’ said the managing director.
wo of the world’s greatest TSouth icons, Nelson Mandela of Africa and Mahatma
Gandhi of India are the subject of a wall exhibition currently on display at the Nelson Mandela Centre in Johannesburg. The exhibit, which is known as Mandela Gandhi Wall was created by renowned artist and author, Birad Rajaram Yajnik. It is an interactive exhibit, which focuses on the lives and relationship between the two great historic figures who command cult following in their countries -South Africa and India and across the world. It also seeks to explore the existing relationships between the two countries who are both members of the BRICS nations. The technologically based
wall exhibit particularly resonate with the youth populations who are easily attracted to the stand to not only view but engage in the card game, which is part of the offerings of the exhibit. Besides, others are also drawn to the exhibit as the postcard game has also been simplified and made easy for those not technologically driven. At its recent opening ceremony, Yajnik, took time to take visitors through the process of
Mandela Gandhi wall
the postcard game which has questions and answers on it with matching words. Dotting the wall are QR (quick-recognition) codes that can be read by smart phones, which then play videos or audio clips that the creator of the wall exhibit has loaded on to the internet. With the free internet access at the centre, it means the individual can explore the game on his own data or airtime. According to Yajnik, with this creation, he hopes to engage the youth and believing that they would be inspired and motivated by the lives and works of the two great icons. ‘‘My message is for the youth, most of my work is targeted at high school students,’’ he said, adding that ‘‘it turned out very nicely and simplicity works best.’’