JEDDAH —The Kingdom’s premier hospitality and food industry event, The Hotel Show Saudi Arabia, now in its eight edition, returns to Jeddah Centre for Forums and Events from March 31st – April 2nd 2020, and organizers are promising its most hands-on hospitality experience to date.

The annual exhibition is the premier platform for the Kingdom’s ever-growing hotel industry, renowned for being the one-stop shop where GMs, buyers, restaurateurs and developers can get their hands on products for every element to improve the guest experience — from décor, furniture and in-room technologies, to F&B supplies, gym and leisure equipment, and everything in between.

In short, the exhibition will offer a 360-degree showcase of modern hospitality with a show that educates, celebrates and defines both the present and future of the industry in Saudi Arabia.

Not only this, the show will have a range of interactive features, live competitions and discussion seminars that will give a platform to those who are the lifeblood of the hotel, tourism and F&B industry, from housekeepers and sous chefs to property owners, GM’s and franchisees.

The Kingdom is already one of the world’s major destinations for visitors. The recent launch of a new e-visa system where 49 countries can apply will only increase these numbers. The countries eligible include USA, Canada, E.U., Japan and China whose citizens can now apply for visas online as tourists. The aim is to target 100 million tourist by 2030 as part of Saudi Vision 2030.

Alongside the international tourism the country’s population is over 33 million people which means within its own borders the country has the potential to drive domestic tourism. To cater for the current and future requirements of both tourists and locals, there is plenty of construction happening in Saudi Arabia focused on entertainment and sporting activities as well as in the wider hospitality sector, to add new hotels, cafes and restaurants to the existing ones.

According to a report by Tophotelsproject — prepared in December 2019 — there are 158 hotel projects in pipeline, which will add 70,475 new hotel rooms to its current supply.

Event Director Gary Williams said, “Saudi Arabia's hospitality sector continues to grow, fueled by increasing demand from religious, business and leisure visitors, plus the ongoing economic diversification through Vision 2030. In line with the changing hospitality landscape of Saudi Arabia, hoteliers will need to adapt to the varying preferences in the market to remain competitive.

“Closely linked with Saudi Vision 2030, The Hotel Show Saudi Arabia is all about helping those involved in the hospitality, F&B and leisure industries to plan for the future, be it sourcing products, looking for inspiration, exploring new trends and technology or networking with government officials, investors and industry leaders — we have got it all covered.”

New for the 2020 edition of the show are the 2 new features as well as the ever-popular Inter-Hotel Culinary Competition; Our first “GM’s conference”, will bring together General Managers of leading hotels and the Housekeeping competition will challenge teams of Housekeepers to tidy and clean a ransacked hotel room in record time.

GM’s Conference will welcome a pool of important speakers, all of whom will be of General Manager position or above from the Kingdom’s leading hotels to discuss and address key opportunities and challenges within the hospitality industry. The conference will be a highly-influential forum for hospitality-based discussion, debate and learning.

On the other hand, this year we want to celebrate the unsung heroes of the hospitality world by launching a new competition “Saudi Arabia’s Housekeepers League of Champions”. This is to acknowledge the efforts of housekeeping teams who are the basis for a great guest experience. The live competition will put the best team of housekeepers from hotels around the country in the spotlight and their skills to the test. The participating teams will be given just seven minutes to clean up messy rooms to the highest standard set by our judges who will then determine winners based on cleaning technique, timing, cleanliness and overall impression.

The Inter-Hotel Culinary Competition will remain a key feature at #HOTELSHOWKSA where top chefs from leading hotels will be showcasing their exemplary cooking styles, creativity and will share their culinary expertise in a live kitchen environment.

As the hospitality landscape and tourism across the Kingdom continues to grow and prosper, The Hotel Show Saudi Arabia strives hard to deliver a stellar event by bringing innovation year on year, along with offering unlimited networking and sourcing opportunities for hoteliers and restaurateurs and everyone involved in the hospitality industry.

Owners, investors or operators of hotels, restaurants, cafes, gyms, spas, fitness centers and hospitals are welcome to attend the event. The entry to the event is free of charge and registration can be done online using this link: register.thehotelshowsaudiarabia.com — SG