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Sep 20, 2019
FIHA 2020: Accor plays host in Ivory Coast

Sofitel Abidjan Hotel Ivoire FIHA 2020: Accor plays host in Ivory Coast 20thSeptember 2019 Bench Events, the organiser of the Africa Hotel Investment Forum (AHIF), which is the premier hotel investment conference in Africa, today announced that […]
Sep 17, 2019
AHIF delegates will run for charity with Haile Gebrselassie

Delegates at the Africa Hotel Investment Forum (AHIF) will have the chance to go running with the Ethiopian Olympic gold medallist and four-time World Championship title holder, Haile Gebrselassie, to raise money for charity. Olympic gold medallist and four-time World […]
Sep 16, 2019
Mixed-use is the key to funding hotel development in Africa

JOHANNESBURG, September 16, 2019 – A new report from JLL, the world’s largest professional services firm specialising in real estate, has revealed that people seeking to finance a new hotel project in Africa will be much more successful if their […]
Aug 13, 2019
Hong Kong looks set to suffer a dramatic drop in visitors

A freshly updated report from ForwardKeys, which analyses over 17 million flight bookings a day, has revealed that the recent wave of pro-democracy demonstrations in Hong Kong, culminating in the closure of the airport on Monday, has had the effect […]
Aug 8, 2019
Addis Ababa leads Africa in hotel room rates

Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, posted Africa’s highest average daily rate (ADR), according to the most recent 12-month data from STR. The market will play host to the Africa Hotel Investment Forum (AHIF) on 23-25 September at the Sheraton Addis. From July […]
Aug 6, 2019
Feast of Sacrifice holiday boom

A report from ForwardKeys, which analyses over 17 million flight bookings a day, has revealed that the 2019 Feast of Sacrifice holiday is set to see a boom in outbound travel from the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries. Currently, forward […]
Jul 30, 2019
Bench Events and APO Group Form Long-Term Partnership to Help Drive Hotel Investment in Africa

Deal covers the next three editions of the Africa Hotel Investment Forum (AHIF) and the Forum de l’Investissement Hôtelier Africain (FIHA) – the two largest events in the African hospitality industry calendar. Bench Events, organiser of the Africa Hotel Investment […]
Jul 25, 2019
Sri Lanka struggles to recover from Easter bombings

A report from ForwardKeys, which analyses over 17 million flight bookings a day, has revealed that three months after the Easter Sunday suicide bombings, on April 21st, Sri Lanka’s tourism industry is still suffering; although a slow recovery appears to […]
Jul 24, 2019
Ethiopia Backs AHIF

Prominent figures from Ethiopia’s public and private sectors have spoken out publicly to welcome the return to Addis Ababa of the Africa Hotel Investment Forum (AHIF), which is the premier tourism and hotel investment conference in Africa, and to encourage […]
Jul 17, 2019
Hong Kong suffers a short-term, short-haul set-back

A report from ForwardKeys, which analyses over 17 million flight bookings a day, has revealed that the recent wave of demonstrations in Hong Kong, against the controversial extradition bill, has had the effect of deterring people from making plans to […]
Jul 15, 2019
Eurostar and WebBeds expand hotel package programme

Eurostar, the high-speed passenger rail service linking the UK with mainland Europe, is increasing the choice of properties in its hotel collection, in partnership with WebBeds. 70 new hotels will be added to its rail and accommodation packages; 25 in […]
Jul 10, 2019
ForwardKeys forecasts a tourism boom in Madagascar

Boda Narijao, President of the Madagascar National Tourist Office ForwardKeys forecasts a tourism boom in Madagascar A study undertaken by ForwardKeys, which analyses over 17 million flight booking transactions a day, reveals that Madagascar, which is a magnet for nature-loving […]
Jul 3, 2019
AHIF will generate $millions for Addis, $billions for Africa

Martin Jansen van Vuuren I and M Futureneer Advisors An independent assessment by the international tourism advisory expert, Martin Jansen van Vuuren, a partner at Futureneer Advisors, has quantified the significant economic benefits to host countries of the influential Africa […]
Jul 1, 2019
Travellanda takes on a trio of sales stars

Travellanda, the award-winning and fastest-growing wholesale travel company in the UK, has appointed three new Sales and Business Development Managers to help it expand into India, the Middle East and Spanish-speaking markets. [caption id="attachment_2382" align="alignleft" width="150"] Ajay Rohila[/caption] [caption […]
Jun 25, 2019
Some Caribbean destinations benefit as deaths in Dominican Republic deter US tourists

A spate of unexplained deaths of US tourists in the Dominican Republic, which have received extensive coverage in the media, and are now being investigated by the FBI, has caused tourist numbers to plummet. However, at the same time, tourism […]
Jun 20, 2019
Istanbul is expected to be Europe’s tourism hot spot in Q3 2019

A study undertaken for European Cities Marketing (ECM) by ForwardKeys, which analyses over 17 million flight booking transactions a day, reveals that Istanbul is set to be Europe’s city tourism hot spot in the third quarter of 2019 (July 1st […]
Jun 5, 2019
We have the money; let’s do deals

Olivier Granet, Ilaria Benucci Jonathan Worsley CEO, Kasada Director, CDC Group Chairman, Bench Events The AHIF agenda for September 23 – 25 at the Sheraton Addis, Ethiopia, has […]
May 30, 2019
Russians rush to APAC

It’s boom time for Russian arrivals in Asia-Pacific (APAC) countries, thanks to a doubling in seat capacity on direct flights from Russia to selected APAC destinations. The trend is revealed in the latest findings from ForwardKeys which predicts future travel […]
May 29, 2019
Independent travel and events fuel Chinese tourism

“Chinese tourism is FIT and healthy.” That is the situation, as summed up by Olivier Ponti, VP Insights at ForwardKeys, which forecasts travel trends by analysing over 17 million flight booking transactions a day. But what is behind this assessment? […]
May 9, 2019
Egypt heads the Africa hotel development top ten

9th May 2019 The stars of hotel development in Africa are Egypt, Nigeria, Morocco and Ethiopia, according to the 11th annual survey by W Hospitality Group, acknowledged as the industry’s most authoritative source. The four countries head the top ten […]