Two major events focused on the development of the hospitality industry in Saudi Arabia will co-locate for the first time in Jeddah next year. The 5th edition of The Hotel Show Saudi Arabia will run in tandem with the debut Stone & Surface Saudi Arabia exhibition over three days — April 4-6 — at the Jeddah Center for Forums and Events. The new co-location will provide the region's ultimate showcase of everything needed to build, develop and maintain a hotel or restaurant in the Kingdom at a time of unprecedented hospitality industry growth. With the launch of Saudi Arabia's Vision 2030, a series of new hospitality, infrastructure and urban construction projects have been announced this year. The government-led initiative seeks to double the number of hotel rooms in the Kingdom by 2030 to cater for a surge in tourists. This year, a JLL report prepared ahead of The Hotel Show Saudi Arabia 2016 forecast that Jeddah's hotel room inventory alone will double by 2018. "Saudi Arabia is one of the Middle East and Africa's top hotel construction hotspots with more than 140 projects in the pipeline," commented John Suzara, event manager of The Hotel Show Saudi Arabia 2017. "The hotel show is providing the most comprehensive display of products and services required to develop a new or existing hotel or restaurant here." Suzara added: "Some of the most popular sectors at the annual hotel show edition in Saudi Arabia are technology, interiors, lighting and design, cleaning and laundry, and advancements in HORECA for: hotels, restaurants and cafes. This year, the hotel build sector of the show will be complimented by the interior and exterior stone solutions on offer at Stone & Surface Saudi Arabia presenting the ultimate hospitality development expo." Stone & Surface Saudi Arabia 2017 will showcase contract flooring options, wall covering solutions, a range of materials including natural stone and ceramics and the machinery involved in quarrying, producing and cutting them. Saudi Arabia's infrastructure already includes the largest mosque in the world. The world's biggest hotel, Abraj Kudai, is forecast to open 10,000 rooms to the public in Makkah next year. "2017 is a great time for suppliers and distributors to make a name for themselves in the Saudi Arabian market," commented Yan Wang, event director of Stone & Surface Saudi Arabia. "The Kingdom already has some of the world's largest hotels, universities, hospitals, and Jeddah Tower, currently under construction, is projected to become the world's tallest building. Alongside extensive infrastructure projects set to improve connectivity between the country's major cities, there is a massive requirement throughout the Kingdom for construction materials, especially stone." "In some cases where particular types of stone are favored for aesthetic and practical reasons, there is a need to source materials from international suppliers," added Wang. "Our event is the only one in the Kingdom dedicated to connecting interior and exterior surface material and machinery suppliers from the local market, and all over the world, with the decision makers responsible for specifying and procuring them." Meanwhile, The Hotel Show Saudi Arabia 2017 is set to continue its momentum as the Kingdom's leading event for 1000s of hospitality industry professionals to source new products, network and learn about the latest industry trends.
