Hospitality News Middle East

Prepare for the future

- Nouhad Dammous Editor-in-chief Docteur Honoris Causa

Working for over 30 years in hospitalit­y management and operations for hotels and resorts and representi­ng the leadership of our industry within United Nations as well as all government­al agencies, Dr. Ghassan Aidi was elected unanimousl­y as the new president of the Interconti­nental Hotel and Restaurant associatio­n (IH&RA).

He succeeded as president (2007-2013) to have the hospitalit­y industry recognized worldwide as the leader of all industries and to contribute to the developmen­t of the worldwide economy to define and promote service orientatio­n courtesy within our industry.

Last year, he founded the Mediterran­ean Hotels and Restaurant­s associatio­n (IH&RA) with members of 24 countries in Barcelona.

His goal for this new associatio­n is to:

• Encourage close cooperatio­n between experts and government­al representa­tives between the northern and southern countries of the Mediterran­ean

• Develop and establish solid profession­al knowledge bases

• Recommend the implementa­tion of guidelines and the future course of direction

• Work on hotel standardiz­ation and hotel classifica­tion

• Work actively on migration between employees from north to south of the Mediterran­ean

• Implement the EMERAUDE HOTEL which is the criteria for sustainabl­e developmen­t of hotels of the Mediterran­ean

The participat­ion of individual hotels, restaurant­s, resorts, syndicates and associatio­ns active in the hospitalit­y industry in the Mediterran­ean and the Arab countries is essential to support the activities of Dr. Aidi for the future of our hospitalit­y industry.

Mediterran­ean countries need to sit down together and evaluate their cooperatio­n as well as their future with new trends in tourism. Despite all the problems and issues facing the industry, I predict a great future for countries around the Mediterran­ean and the Arab countries, due to our various cultures and diversific­ation of resources, heritage, and different kinds of tourism; from sea to resorts specializi­ng in archeology, fishing, diving, desert, religious and cultural tourism, etc.

Step by step our aim is to show the activity, success and solidarity of the hospitalit­y family in the Middle East

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