Hotel & Hospitality Show at Sandton Convention Centre
18 May 2023

Africa's Hotel and Hospitality Sector Set to Flourish as Industry Gathers in Joburg for the Sixth Hotel & Hospitality Show 

As the Tourism Sector continues its recovery, Joburg Tourism’s Convention Bureau is thrilled to be welcoming the Hotel & Hospitality Show to the City, running from 18 – 20 May 2023 at the Sandton Convention Centre.

The Hotel & Hospitality Show is in its sixth year and continues to promote growth in the sector, connecting brands with hospitality buyers across Africa and encouraging networking opportunities. A sizable 87% of attendees at last year’s show planned to visit this year.

Visitors include distributors and agents, hotel, lodge and resort representatives, product manufacturers, food service and food manufacturers, importers and exporters, restaurateurs and more.

“Key buyers and decision makers from around the world attend, ensuring that global trends and insights combine with local vision and trends. We encourage B2B matchmaking and look forward to this year’s show, where inspiration and cross-border collaborations will thrive,” says Evan Schiff, Portfolio Director at dmg events, the company responsible for hosting the show at the Sandton Convention Centre in Johannesburg.

MMC for Economic Development at the City of Johannesburg, Cllr Nomoya Mnisi, explains that staging these significant national and global Conferences in collaboration with our Bid Partners is an important milestone in our efforts to reignite business events in Johannesburg. Business events play a catalytic role in promoting a range of support services, whilst at the same time bringing together an array of tourists. JTC’s MICE Support Programme is aimed at enabling the City to secure more business events and improve our competitiveness.

The hotel and hospitality sector continues to show signs of resilience and growth, with positive prospects ahead. According to the 2023 Hotel and Hospitality Industry Confidence Index[i], participants across the continent are optimistic about the future of the industry.

Projections from Statista support this perception and confirm a projected Average Annual Growth Rate of 8.68% for the sector over the next five years, with hotel market revenue in Africa predicted to reach US$13.80 billion by 2027.

“This positive outlook on growth in the sector is high on the agenda at the upcoming Hotel & Hospitality Show,” says Schiff. “Registrations are open to attend and there are many exciting features this year catering to the hotel, hospitality and design industry, including seminars, competitions and exhibits.”

The Hotel & Hospitality Show provides a 360-degree view of the market from the challenges and opportunities to latest innovations and sustainable ideas for the future.

The 14th edition of the South African leg of the Global Pizza Challenge will tantalize tastebuds and delight spectators, while the Hotel GM Forum, a closed event, will also return. Other highlights include:

· The Sustainability Pavilion by Hotelstuff/Greenstuff is a returning landmark, displaying exclusive eco-friendly products from furniture to operating equipment, guest amenities and many other products. Other prestigious exhibitors include the Design Pavilion by IID Professions and brands such as Posiflex, Tork, Solarus, Foodserv, Aranda Textiles and Sheraton.
· The Hotel & Hospitality Show’s panel discussions will address the future of the industry and prevalent issues facing the sector from energy costs to staff considerations. Building a diverse workforce and addressing immediate energy constraints are among the topics of discussion.
· The 2023 Hotel and Hospitality Industry Confidence Index saw a substantial 94.3% of respondents committed to supporting and retaining staff. Key among hotel employees is the housekeeping team, but their work often goes unnoticed. In 2018, the Hotel & Hospitality Show launched a competition to highlight this great work. “The Southern African Housekeepers League of Champions will return this year, offering an exciting and highly competitive challenge as Africa’s top housekeeping teams race against the clock to show off their skills,” Schiff adds.

For more information and to register to attend The Hotel & Hospitality Show 2023, click here.

[1] The 2023 Hotel and Hospitality Industry Confidence Index is a collaborative report between Moore Global (Moore) and Daily Mail Group (dmg) to understand the trends, challenges and perceptions facing the industry. In putting the report together, participants from 17 African countries in the hotel and hospitality market were surveyed and overall, feel optimistic about the prospects of the sector. To download the full 2023 Hotel and Hospitality Industry Confidence Index, click here.

EDITORIAL NOTES:

· To watch the Welcome to Joburg - A City Reimagined campaign, click on this link - https://www.facebook.com/VisitJoburg/videos/299209221138418. 

ABOUT JOBURG’S ACCOLADES:

· Johannesburg, Egoli, Jozi or Joburg - Africa’s Most Visited City since 2013 [according to the Mastercard Global Destination Cities Index, released in December 2018] - is a vibrant, diverse, global, all year round destination for business, leisure and lifestyle, sports, the arts, fashion and design. And so the list goes on.

· Our extraordinary city boasts plenty of accolades as a destination, including making it onto TripAdvisor’s top ten list in the Travelers’ Choice Awards for Best Destinations in Africa [May 2018].

· In June 2021, 7th Street in Melville emerged as the one of the World’s Coolest Cities, by global Time Out magazine, ranking 12th and taking Africa’s top spot among the world's coolest top 30 streets. This, after making it to the international digital magazine’s list of the world’s 40 coolest and kindest neighbourhoods in 2020, ranking 33rd.

· In February 2022, Joburg was named as one of the world’s best cities for Arts and Culture, achieving 38th place (ahead of Cape Town at number 43). This is according to the global publication Big 7 Travel. This is not only testament to the City’s 76 art galleries (which comprise the largest art collection in the country), but also to its iconic signature events which include several annual arts and culture festivals, as well as events like the Africa Rising Film Festival and the Festival of Lights at the Joburg Zoo.