Hosting the big faces of the hospitality industry

The three-day event organized by the UK-based Bench Events, turned out to be one of the biggest forums hosted in Africa. The number of participants grew to more than 500 and the global brands that sponsored the event this year reached 37. The event, which was held for the first time in Addis Ababa, is the fourth edition of the Africa Hotel Investment Forum (AHIF). Consultant in the hospitality industry, David Tarsh, is also serving as the spokesperson of Bench Events. According to Tarsh, the forum aims at being a platform for networking, knowledge sharing and a place for deals to happen. Birhanu Fikade of The Reporter sat down with Tarsh at the Sheraton Addis where the event was taking place to discuss the hospitality industry’s future in Ethiopia. Excerpts:

The Reporter: What exactly is the reason for big hotel industry players to come to Africa, particularly to Ethiopia to operate? 

David Tarsh: The economic growth is about five percent on average. That is double or more than double than the growth pretty much in every western economy. If you are a player in the hotel market on a global level, you will be saying to yourself where do I make money? How do I make money?  And how do I make more money? If I am in an economy, which is growing faster, for every dollar that I have put in, I am going to get more dollars back. So you are investing and that’s what you are looking from those economies. So Africa is growing faster than the western economies. The other thing is that if you look at the hotel rooms with per capita population, it’s nowhere near the United States, Europe or even compared with some of the big countries in Asia. As an investor I would say to you that this is an interesting place for investing. However, there still is an issue. Investors have to have a good knowledge about the continent. Thirty years ago, if you were to mention Africa, one would say that most countries were somehow at war. Today, there is peace. That’s encouraging.

Then what was the potential risk for Western investors to come to Africa then? 

What happens if the government changes? All of a sudden what they have thought they have owned will be in danger. That is a potential risk. Whenever there is an opportunity we would like to be there and be part of it. Another important factor is the local partners. If you are working with somebody who is locally influential, well connected and has other business interests, that is a major plus. So finding the right local partners is unbelievably important. That is one of the main aims for this event. We have got the highest concentration of big international hotel investors wanting to have a look at Africa or at the moment Ethiopia.

Read more at: The Reporter