The sixth South American Hotel & Tourism Investment Conference (SAHIC), described by economics website Dinero as the “most important in South America,” will meet in Bogota on September 23-24.
According to Dinero, over 500 international experts will meet to discuss “hotels, resorts, real estate projects and overall leisure and tourism development projects in South America.”
MORE: Colombia to host major hotel and tourism event
“SAHIC brings together all those involved in investment in Latin American hotels,” said Maria Caludia Lacoutre, President of Proexport Colombia, the organization promoting the conference.
“It gives Colombia the chance to show off its potential as a great place to invest in the hotel sector, to present its strengths as a tourist destination of global size,” she said, adding that SAHIC will also provide those investors already established in Colombia with the information needed to increase their presence in the country and expand into new cities and new markets, like well-being, sun and beach.
The keynote speaker will be Thorsten Kirschke, president of the Americas Carlson Rezidor Hotel Group, who hope to have 1500 hotels in South America by 2015. Also involved will be Abel Castro, Vice-President of Latin American development at Accor, one of the world’s leading hotel operators, and Ted Middleton, Vice-President of development at Hilton Worldwide.
Hotel groups that have not yet entered Colombia will also be present, like the Viceroy Hotel Group from the United States, Four Seasons Hotels & Resorts from Canada, and Britain’s Orient Express.
This will be the second time the SAHIC comes to Colombia; it was held in Cartagena in 2010.
According to the World Tourism Organization, the hotel sector is the first or second most lucrative source of revenue for 20 of the world’s 48 least developed countries.
Government statistics say that tourism in Colombia increased 7.7% in the first half of 2013, compared with the same period the year before. The statistics state that over 970,000 foreigners visited the country between January and June.
MORE: Colombia’s tourism up 7.7% in 2013
