Dear AHIF Community,

I hope you are keeping well, we were delighted to see so many familiar faces at our AHIF Marketspace event on 25th March. As I announced at the event, we will be bringing AHIF to the 17^th edition of the Arabian Hospitality Investment Conference (AHIC), held live in-person on 20-22 September 2021 at the Madinat Jumeirah in Dubai, UAE.

AHIF will also be joined by the close-knit communities of the Saudi Arabia Hospitality Investment Conference (SHIC) and the Global Restaurant Investment Forum (GRIF) making this event the premier hospitality event for 2021. Together, these investment communities will bring a larger group of investors, industry leaders, private equity firms, franchise owners, and leading stakeholders, creating a robust buyer and seller platform with more opportunities under one roof. And with their collective presence, we can have the much-needed conversations to rise from this pandemic together, enhancing the value of market insights, networking, time spent, and the potential of partnerships and opportunities.

With the support of our Host Partner, Jumeirah, the event will take place at the Madinat Jumeirah in Dubai under the new banner of the Arabian & African Hospitality Investment Conference (AHIC). With a recovering hospitality sector, Dubai is one of the safest locations to host an event.

I hope to share more with you as we finalise our plans. In the meantime, please register your interest today for AHIC 2021 to ensure you receive future updates about the event.

Speak soon & stay safe.

Best regards,

Matthew Weihs

Managing Director

Bench Events

Asset-1.png#asset:3471

Asset-2.png#asset:3472

AHIF Marketspace - 25 March 2021

AHIF-Banner_210405_074701.jpg#asset:3475

Recently, the IMF’s Managing Director, Kristalina Georgieva, praised Morocco’s monetary and fiscal choices in the face of Covid-19.

As host to this year’s 24th UNWTO General Assembly, Morocco is set to showcase the importance of restarting international tourism in a safe and sustainable way. The country has been a key focus economy for AHIF – Africa Hotel Investment Forum. The Bench Team has been working closely with SMIT the Moroccan Agency for Tourism Development, to see how best we can showcase and discuss Moroccan opportunities with the AHIF community.

On 25 March, we brought the power of AHIF back to you! Delegates got the chance to experience the AHIF Marketspace virtual event, focused on hospitality investment in Morocco and surrounding regions.

Africa Hotel Investment Forum (AHIF) would have celebrated its 10^th edition in 2020. However, AHIF’s legacy of connecting the region’s hospitality investment community was forced to face challenges unlike anything anyone expected. Joining this resilient industry, facing the perfect storm, we continue to engage, innovate and discuss how best to utilise virtual platforms and hybrid meetings to encourage business discussions around the future of Africa’s hospitality sector.