Fatima Muhammad Saudi Gazette JEDDAH — The three-day Hotel Show 2012 opened here Saturday, in line with the government's vision to create more job opportunities for young Saudis in the hotel and catering sectors. The event was inaugurated by Dr. Hani Abu Ras at the Jeddah Center for Forums and Events. According to Tim Wilson, event manager and one of the organizing team, the SCTA and government authorities are looking forward that the hotel and catering fields could provide 1.1 million jobs by 2016 and 2.3 jobs by 2020. These jobs could be in finance, management, catering, services, engineering and technology. The event is being held under the patronage of Prince Sultan Bin Salman Bin Abdul Aziz Al Saud, President & Chairman of Board of Directors of SCTA. The exhibition hopes to provide a space to show products and services for the hotel and hospitality industries, including: food & beverage, technology, operating equipment and supplies, interior & design, and outdoor & resort experience. The exhibition has 120 exhibitors coming from 24 countries. The show will bring together an anticipated number of over 5,000 invited buyers from across Saudi's hotel and hospitality industries, including: hotel owners, hospitality managers, food and beverage managers, catering managers, restaurateurs, and IT managers. Mohammed Al-Amry, executive director of the General Authority for Tourism and Antiquities in Makkah region, said the Hotel Show is an important exhibition in the Kingdom. “There is an increase of 18.9 percent in Saudi Arabia's tourism from 2010 to 2011. Jeddah is now considered the busiest city with occupancy over 65 per cent in 2011 as compared to the previous years." He added that according to the National Tourism Development Strategy, between 2009-2019, the investment in the tourism sector and residential units is expected to reach SR97.5 billion ($26 billion). The Hotel Show Saudi Arabia comes at a crucial juncture as it gives us a great platform to debate and define the strategic roadmap for the country's hospitality sector amid our aggressive growth plans, Al-Amry said. Mazen bin Mohammed Batterjee, Vice President of the Jeddah Chamber of Commerce and Industry, said: “Jeddah and its existing strong potential helped in developing the hospitality sector and establishing it as the leading player in national tourism as well as across the Middle East." Last year, there were 36 exhibitions and 6 summits held in Jeddah which increasingly attracted more international companies to take advantage of Jeddah's unique proximity and business opportunities, and year after year. Jeddah has proven to be the strongest business hub on the Kingdom's map, he added. Abu Ras added that “The Hotel Show Saudi Arabia is the ideal business platform highlighting the large-scale infrastructure developments in KSA, boom in religious tourism and flourishing business travelers & MICE sector, catapulting the Kingdom on to the international hospitality map."
