The Hotel Show Saudi Arabia took place on 4-6 April at the Jeddah Centre for Forums and Events at the start of the month, as expected it was an event not to be missed…
The fifth edition of The Hotel Show Saudi Arabia and the inaugural Stone & Surface Saudi Arabia opened on 4 April under the patronage of Mohammad A. Al-Amri, general manager of the Saudi Commission for Tourism & National Heritage (SCTH) in Makkah Province, Jeddah.
Thousands of hospitality and construction industry professionals attended the co-located trade shows at the Jeddah Centre for Forums and Events from 4-6 April 2017.
“The hospitality industry in Saudi Arabia is currently experiencing record levels of growth with 170 hotels in the pipeline,” said John Suzara, event manager of The Hotel Show Saudi Arabia. “The Hotel Show is the must-attend annual event for professionals in hotels, resorts and restaurants looking for the latest international products, or to establish a presence in the kingdom.
“In the wake of the announcement of Saudi Vision 2030, there has been a surge in construction across various industries throughout the Kingdom – and stone is an essential part of the majority of built structures.”
At The Hotel Show Saudi Arabia, the technology sector was buzzing with new product launches including a world’s first from LG Electronics and United Naghi Co. Pro-ICT, and other, major international exhibitors including Onity and CMT Technologies.
The interiors, lighting and design product sector was also popular with major brands Sandalyeci, Closet World, Banta Furniture, Adasan, Zubair Furnishing, Raha Oman and more – all displaying their latest product ranges.
For the first time this year, The Hotel Show hosted the inaugural Inter-Hotel Culinary Competition – Mystery Box Challenge.
Endorsed by Worldchefs through the Saudi Arabian Chefs’ Association and the Saudi Arabian Chefs Table Circle, the brand new culinary competition for the Kingdom ran throughout the three days of the event, with the victorious hotel team – Mövenpick Resort Al Nawras, Jeddah – announced on its final day.
Elaf Jeddah Hotel and Makarem Ajyad Makkah Hotel took the silver and bronze medals respectively, the latter being unique as it was the only team in the competition comprising entirely of Saudi female chefs.
Chef Yasser Jad – founder and president of Saudi Arabian Chefs’ Association (SARCA), and food and beverage manager at Saudi Airlines – chaired the jury, a line-up of expert international judges. Jad said: “We would like to thank all of the teams that took part in the competition for their outstanding efforts.
“Through competitions such as this, Saudi Arabian Chefs’ Association aims to highlight the talent and skilled roles of chefs in the Kingdom.
“There are excellent opportunities available in the food and beverage sector here, and we seek to assist the goals set by Saudi Vision 2030 in increasing the number of jobs occupied by Saudi nationals in hospitality.”
Judge and master chef Adrian Meyer of Switzerland added: “We witnessed very interesting combinations and innovations and our taste buds were put to the challenge. We certainly learned something, and we hope that the contestants did too. We were very happy to have them – and we hope that they return for next time.”
Meanwhile, co-located event Stone & Surface Saudi Arabia provided a vast international showcase of the latest stone materials from Saudi Arabia, Turkey, China, UAE, Italy, Oman, Belgium, Lebanon, Germany and Australia.
A highlight being its major Turkish pavilion, home to more than 80 types of stone incorporating 400 different colours and patterns, Turkey is firmly established as the world’s leading nation for stone supply.
Find out more at: www.thehotelshowsaudiarabia.com / www.stoneandsurfacesaudi.com
