Greek Hoteliers to Get the Latest on post-Covid Hospitality at the 5th IHF in Athens

The 5th International Hospitality Forum (IHF), which will be held in Athens on November 27, will enable Greek hoteliers to keep on top of industry trends, the organizers of the event said on Monday.

The high profile IHF, which over the years has been established as the leading dialogue and knowledge platform for the hospitality industry in Greece, will once again see the Hellenic Chamber of Hotels (HCH) join forces with Phocuswright, a leading travel, tourism and hospitality market research company.

The event this year is titled “Hospitality in the post-Covid era”.

Speaking during a hybrid press conference in Athens, Hellenic Chamber of Hotels Alexandros Vassilikos highlighted that the IHF for the fifth year will function as a meeting point for representatives of global hospitality brands, Greek and foreign experts and decision makers, internationally recognized consulting companies and renowned tourism entrepreneurs.

“The program of this year’s forum is very timely and aims to provide valid information on all the global hospitality trends in the post-covid era by international industry trendsetters,” the chamber’s president said.

Hellenic Chamber of Hotels Alexandros Vassilikos.

Held annually in Athens since 2017 at the Xenia hospitality exhibition, the chamber’s forum this year will be held as a hybrid event, organized by the Hellenic Chamber of Hotels and powered by Phocuswright.

“The conclusions that will be drawn for the 5th IHF will be of great value for the current uncertainties created by the pandemic and for the need of a new tourism development model that will have the concept of sustainability at its core,” the chamber’s president added.

Phocuswright: We encourage all industry players to turn to Greece

“By reinforcing our cooperation year after year with the Hellenic Chamber of Hotels and especially through this very challenging crisis, our main objective has remained to support all travel players and destinations and encourage all industry players to turn to Greece,” Phocuswright General Manager Peter Comeau said during the press conference.

The IHF will once again welcome top travel executives from around the world and deliver a unique program supported by the expertise of Phocuswright analysts.

Phocuswright Managing Director Peter Comeau. Photo source: Phocuswright

“Our strong experience delivering international on-site and virtual events around the globe will enable us to produce in partnership with the Hellenic Chamber of Hotels a high quality event for Greece and global tourism industry,” Comeau said, adding that by powering the IHF, Phocuswright reinforces its entire support to the hotel industry in Greece and the entire travel sector overall.

“Even though the disruption by Covid was immense, Greece came out of the crisis with the best management practices of the pandemic and remains today a top safe destination. The best is yet to come for Greece,” Phocuswright’s general manager underlined.

5th IHF

During the 5th IHF, participants will have the chance to learn the latest industry trends through the first release of the global Phocuswright research “Drivers of customer satisfaction in a renewed travel market” and understand how the hospitality industry can recover from Covid-19 while revolutionizing its marketing, distribution and operations; and how sustainability has become top on the agenda for hotels.

Also, the event will see the chairman and CEO of Accor, Sébastien Bazin, in an exclusive discussion on post-Covid hospitality with Hellenic Chamber of Hotels President Alexandros Vassilikos.

“By bringing the IHF on-site again this year, we all embrace the importance of meeting face to face and how networking is key to success. It has never been so important to travel, to speak up, share initiatives and experiences as we are all coming out of this crisis with new practices, new strategies and facing a brand new traveling profile,” Comeau concluded.

The program of the 5th IHF can be seen here.

Xenia 2021 trade show

The IHF is sponsored by XENIA trade show for the 5th year in a row. The event will take place at the Metropolitan Expo as part of XENIA’s 2021 edition.

“Xenia 2021 will be the leading business meeting for the people of the industry and will highlight the main pillars on which Greek tourism’s new model will be based,” said Thanassis Gialouris, VP of FORUM SA, Xenia’s organizer.

FORUM SA VP Thanassis Galouris.

With the participation of 320 exhibitors, the premium exhibition focused on the hotel industry returns safely and will welcome tourism professionals in Covid Free conditions. Entrance to the exhibition will be exclusively permitted with a Green Pass (vaccination or recovery).

The exhibition will aim this year to highlight innovative solutions and proposals for hoteliers and hospitality entrepreneurs in order for them to cope with the demanding environment of the post-covid era.

Xenia 2021 will take place between November 27 and 29 with the message “Tourism is recovering. It’s time for Xenia!”. Press here for further information.

The Greek Travel Pages (GTP) is a media supporter of the 5th International Hospitality Forum and a media partner of the Xenia 2021 expo.