HORECA 2003 expects more than 17,000 visitors

HORECA 2003 is being held under the auspices of President Emile Lahoud at the Beirut Central District from April 1-4.

Now in its tenth year, HORECA has witnessed a tremendous response from participants, including first time participation from Jordan, UAE, Thailand and Austria. Jordan will be represented through a national pavilion and aims to boost trade and tourism between the neighbouring countries

Mrs. Jumana Dammous Salame, the organisers of the event said: "We know how important tourism is to the Levant countries, and HORECA 2003 makes a positive contribution to this industry by profiling the latest trends and developments in food, hospitality and drinks, and, being an international exhibition, attracting visitors from the Arab world and around the globe."

Commenting on Lebanon being an attractive destination for hosting the event, Mrs. Salame said: "The country's choice stems from the fact that last year the Arab Summit and the Francophone summit demonstrated their confidence in Lebanon by selecting it as the host country."

"In addition, Lebanon is brimming with new investment from major industry players: Landmark, a leading Kuwaiti firm has plans to invest $150million to build a 5-star hotel and a complex of residential apartments and commercial office. The Hilton Group is building a $60million 170-room project and the Solidére Group announced deals for hotel projects worth up to $200 million to be built in the next two years in Beirut. This is in addition to Saudi Prince Al Waleed Bin Talal's undertaking of a multi-million dollar project - Four Season and Marina Towers," he added

Each year HORECA draws participation from nearly 50 countries, including: Armenia, Belgium, Canada, Cyprus, Saudi Arabia, Poland, Syria, Turkey and the United Kingdom to name a few. Organised by Jumana Dammous Salame and her father Nouhad , the acclaimed food event aspires to boost the growth of tourism in the Levant countries while providing an ideal environment for professionals to develop new business partners, and share best practices with industry colleagues.

"Beirut has seen a sharp rise in restaurant and hotel activities during 2002, while 2003 is expected to be even better. The number of HORECA exhibitors and foreign visitors this year is also anticipated to rise by about 20 per cent over 2002," Salame added

This year the food event is to be divided into 2 key elements: the Levant trade show for hospitality and foodservice industries, which showcases equipment and services for supermarkets and mobile units; and the international food and drink exhibition for displaying food and beverage products like gourmet specialty food, beverages, food packages and chocolate.

HORECA 2003 also promises to feature different events, including: the hospitality salon culinaire, Lebanese bartenders competition, E-job meeting point, place setting contest and hospitality workshops.

Paul Ariss, President, Syndicate of Restaurant, Café, Night Club and Pastry Shop Owners said, "HORECA is a much awaited annual event. People in this industry have little time to search for hospitality and food resources. That's why HORECA is a fantastic tool that allows discovery of new techniques, products or services," he added.