GENEVA | The International Hotel & Restaurant Association announces that its 47th Annual Congress will be held between the 18th and 20th of January 2010, at the Continental Hotel in Belgrade, Serbia. With the start of the new decade, IH&RA will host an event that highlights the future of the hospitality industry. Belgrade, Serbia perfectly embodies this year’s theme of looking towards the future for opportunities of growth and development.

Leaders from all parts of the world representing some 200,000 hotels and 6 million restaurants will convene to exchange ideas about the major issues of this year: Climate Change and Hospitality, Natural Disaster and Hospitality, International Standardization for Hotels and Restaurants, Exploitation of Children in Tourism, Free Migration of Labor between Countries in Hospitality Field, and importantly Emeraude Hoteliers (IH&RA’s prestigious recognition of hotels that practice sustainable hospitality). The participants hail from hotel/restaurant chains, independent hotels/restaurants, national hotel/restaurant associations, and providers and supporters of the industry. They will propose – and ideally accept – solutions that will benefit society, the environment, and the hotels and restaurants themselves.

In his invitation to IH&RA members, Dr. Ghassan AIDI, President of IH&RA, wrote that the 47th Annual Congress is expected to be the largest one to date, with several hundred attendees anticipated. With the new decade comes a new opportunity to raise the bar of excellence in the hotel and restaurant industry.

IH&RA was founded in 1946 and is the only global business organization representing the hospitality industry worldwide. Officially recognized by United Nations, IH&RA monitors and lobbies all international agencies on behalf of this industry.

Leila Sidawy or Thalis Papadopoulos
+41(0)22 734 80 41
IH&RA

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