Seventh International Hospitality Forum a success

The event held between 30 October to 1 November in Amman Exhibitions Park, closed its doors sealing a successful event with 65 international and local companies showcasing high-end services and products.

The exhibition attracted about four thousand professional visitors from the hotel sector and businessmen from Jordan and neighboring countries, with a 10% increase from the previous year, and witnessed successful business ventures of sale and representation between the exhibitors and the visitors.

The Forum also featured cooking contests where more than 120 Jordanian cooks participated in 15 cooking competitions including the preparation of main dishes, cakes, pastries, in addition to cake decoration, fruits and vegetables carving, and various new methods of food presentation. The jury was made up of distinguished cooks who represented L'Académie Nationale De Cuisine De France.

The event also featured the
Bartender's Competition
Table Setting Comeptition
Bed Making Competition

The organizers of the Forum said that the event contributed to the creation of a network between the hospitality sector and hotels in the region in general and Jordan in particular, and international companies, strengthening the role of Jordan as important destination for trade exhibitions and fairs.

According to Samar Shawareb, the general manager of Events Unlimited, the Jordanian government is keen on applying its strategic plans to provide the necessary support and facilities to organize a number of international exhibitions in the Kingdom, among which the International Hospitality Forum. Shawareb emphasized the importance of the support offered by the Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities, the Jordanian Union of Tourist Restaurants, the Syndicate of Restaurant Owners and the Union of Jordanian Hotels to the organizers of the Forum, which helped them achieve their objectives, allowing for this event to become an annual ritual in the Kingdom and to attract decision makers and key players in the industry.

The Forum included an international trade exhibition for hotel and restaurant equipments and services, including equipment and technology equipment for hotels, furniture and decoration supplies and professional clothing, maintenance appliances, packaging solutions, finance solutions, and hotel management schools, colleges and universities.

According to Joumana Damous Salame, the general manager of Hospitality Services, 'the Forum was successful by all standards, as we could gather the largest number of experts in the hotel and hospitality industry under one roof, who came from various countries of the world, bringing with them a unique and distinctive experience to share with the public and private sector institutions in Jordan and the region.'

Salame added that the significant increase in participation this year is due to the significant expansion achieved by the exhibition since its first edition, an event that became after seven years one of the major tourist exhibitions in the region, becoming a platform of opportunities for investors and tourism operators, and drawing attention to unexploited opportunities in this important and vital sector that the World Tourism Organization ranked as the strongest tourism markets in the world in terms of annual growth rates.

To thank him for his constant efforts to foster the hospitality services industry in Jordan, Mr. Zaid Gousous was named honorable member in the Academie National de Cuisine.

The 8th edition of the International Hospitality Forum was scheduled to take place from 2 to 4 November 2008.