HOSEA 2014 PUTS FINAL TOUCHES ON SPEAKER LIST
(Posted 27th March 2014)
Final touches are being put to the speaker lineup for this year’s Hotel Summit East Africa, while the list of confirmed attendees has been growing in leaps and bounds, according to Kelai Wanjiru, who is in charge of PR and Corporate Communications at Slujan Events, the organizers of the symposium and the trade fair.
Again on board this year is the Kenya Tourism Board, alongside which key private sector associations from Kenya and Uganda will be represented at HOSEA 2014, such as the Kenya Association of Tour Operators, EcoTourism Kenya, The Pubs, Entertainment and Restaurant Association of Kenya and the Uganda Hotel Owners Association, as again a sizeable delegation from Uganda is expected to attend the two events.
Partner for the all-important ‘free cuppa’ this year is Dorman’s Coffee while the Windsor Golf Hotel is the main hospitality partner with the Safari Park Hotel this year named as the main reception host.
Wireless connectivity will be provided at no cost to participants across the venue by Safaricom, Kenya’s leading communications company.
Notably has the Nairobi City County embraced the events and has come on board as official host city while Kenya’s premier meeting venue, the Kenyatta International Convention Centre is once more the host for the trade show and the Hotel Summit. Local media partners will be Kenya’s EatOut and SleepOut as well as the Africa Business magazine.
Among the speakers listed are among others Lasse Ristolainen, Hilton’s Development Director for Sub Saharan Africa, Rahul Sood, Group Managing Director of Sun Africa Hotels, Stuart Cook, Managing Director of Protea Hotels East Africa, David Harper, Head of Property Services of Hotel Partners Africa, Wayne Troughton, CEO of HTI Consulting and yours truly, invited back for a da capo following last year’s appearance.
Kelai Wanjiru also shared some of the novelties of the 2014 events and let it on that premiering at the Kenya Hospitality Trade Fair will be the exciting and interactive ‘Chefs Corner‘ with Chef Ali and the Wine & Beverage Lab. Chef Ali is Kenya’s first Celebrity Chef and host of the popular cooking show TamuTamu. He has travelled far and wide creating amazing culinary treats and showcasing the Kenyan cuisine. The Chefs Corner will be a live cooking theatre with innovative cooking demonstrations by leading chefs from some of the most known hotels and lodges across East Africa. This is a must attend forum not just for food aficionados but for everyone coming to either the trade show or the symposium.
The Wine & Beverage Lab, organized in partnership with the Pubs, Entertainment & Restaurant Association of Kenya, will bring together Bartenders, Mixologists and Wine Connoisseurs from East Africa’s top nightlife venues, hotels and restaurants, to showcase their skills and display the various interesting ways to enjoy drinks and beverages. Extra-ordinary bartending talents will meet for this exciting master Mixologists showpiece to create a variety of cocktails. This is an excellent opportunity for alcohol specialists and winemakers to get insights into the regional and international market trends and enable the industry professionals to gain stimulating business focused ideas and solutions.
The 2014 Hotel Summit East Africa, will run under the theme ‘Moving Forward with Confidence’ and will be held from 15th to the 16th of May at the same venue. The conference targets professionals in C-level management in the wider hospitality industry and discusses trends and issues that propel the hospitality industry in East & Central Africa forward. This year’s summit will focus on issues to do with regional integration, finance for hospitality projects, technology, human resources and capacity building among other topical issues. The conference is expected to attract a minimum of 200 delegates drawn from the hospitality sector as well as from key stakeholders in the travel and tours industry. For more information visit www.kenyahospitalitytradefair.com | www.slujan-events.com
Watch this space for further updates nearer to the time of the two events, which will run alongside each other between May 14th and 16th inclusive.
