(Posted 04th October 2023)
The organizers of the Africa Hospitality Investment Forum, in short AHIF, are delighted to announce that registration is now open for the Africa Hospitality Investment Forum (AHIF), the premier hospitality and tourism investment conference for Africa, attracting many prominent international hotel owners, investors, financiers, management companies and advisors.
AHIF will take place on 25 – 27 June 2024, at the Movenpick Hotel, Windhoek, Namibia.
The theme for AHIF 2024 is ‘Inspiring Growth, Powering Investment‘, encapsulating our commitment to fostering development and driving hospitality investment in the region.
Bench Events is excited to bring AHIF to Namibia, with the support of host partner Namibia Investment Promotion and Development Board and showcase it as the gateway to the SADC countries highlighting this dynamic destination, with exciting development prospects.
View highlights from AHIF 2023 below:
Building upon the resounding success of AHIF 2023, the event program will revisit key topics and incorporate valuable insights from a diverse advisory board and community members. The agenda will feature stage sessions, speed networking sessions, evening receptions, outreach activities, site visits, and challenging conversations with those shaping the future of this great industry.
AHIF 2024 will offer attendees the opportunity to opt for some specially curated tour packages to enhance their ‘Namibian’ experience. These tours, taking place before or after AHIF, provide a deeper insight into Namibia’s hospitality investments and tourist attractions. Tailored to offer unique networking opportunities, these enriching experiences are open to all interested attendees. For more information, please visit their website.
| Register now and take advantage of our early bird rates |
The Africa Hotel Investment Forum (AHIF), which is the premier tourism and hotel investment conference in Africa, attracting many prominent international hotel owners, investors, financiers, management companies and their advisers, will take place on 25 – 27 June 2024, in Namibia.
The venue will be the Mövenpick and Mercure hotels in Namibia’s capital city, Windhoek. Both properties are receiving a total makeover after they were acquired in 2021 by a fund managed by Kasada Capital Management, the leading independent real estate private equity platform dedicated to the hospitality industry in Africa. Consequently, AHIF will showcase the relaunch of both properties.
For many delegates attending AHIF next year, the conference will involve a “safari” in more ways than one. The weekend before AHIF will feature various inspection trips to see some of Namibia’s best hospitality investment projects and tourism attractions. They include spectacular desert scenery, awesome adventure sports and sensational safaris, on which it is possible to see endangered black and white rhino, antelope, cheetah, elephants, giraffes, hippos, lions, ostriches and zebras. The trips will not only be educational; they will also provide valuable networking, as participants will also include delegates from AviaDev, Africa’s premier airline route development conference, which will be scheduled at the same venue, at the end of the week before.
Nangula Uaandja, Chairperson and Chief Executive Officer of the Namibia Investment Promotion and Development Board (NIPDB), said: “Securing the bid to host AHIF 2024 is not just a win for Namibia, but also an affirmation of our national potential. We are delighted to welcome the international hospitality investment community to explore the untapped investment potential of our tourism industry. Namibia is a strikingly beautiful country, with picturesque landscapes that are guaranteed to charm at first sight. More than that, we are a country that is committed to developing our people by attracting foreign investments that catalyse economic activity and employment creation.”
In the seven-year period prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, Namibia’s tourism sector had been growing consistently. According to the country’s Ministry of Environment, Forestry and Tourism, visitor numbers grew by around 5% per annum, from just under 1.2m in 2012 to 1.6m in 2019. However, the pandemic pummelled the country’s tourism industry, with visitor arrivals in 2020 falling below 200,000. Since then, they have recovered – by 40% in 2021; and they jumped by 98.1% to 461,027 in 2022.
Said Matthew Weihs, Managing Director of The Bench, which organises AHIF: “We are very excited that AHIF will, for the first time, go to a SADC country next year. Investing in Africa is all about uncovering and seizing new opportunities. To do that, one needs to expand one’s horizons by going to different places, meeting new people, and exploring alternative scenarios. By scheduling AHIF and AviaDev either side of a weekend in Windhoek and laying on a selection of inspection trips for our delegates, we will be doing just that, as well as offering them unrivalled networking, which is a vital ingredient of any conference.”
