Russia & CIS Hotel Investment Conference (RHIC)

Bench Events and Questex Media Group LLC today announced that the 9th Annual Russia & CIS Hotel Investment Conference (RHIC) will take place 21-23 October 2013 at the Radisson Blu Resort & Congress Hotel in Sochi, Russia, site of the 2014 Olympic Winter Games.

Sochi is undergoing a major transformation from a regional tourist hub into a global tourism destination as it gears up to host the Winter Olympic Games early next year and a number of soccer matches when the FIFA World Cup Finals come to Russia in 2018. In preparation for these mega-events, Sochi and the local region are creating new attractions and investing in infrastructure.

"With the 2014 Winter Olympic Games fast approaching, the world's eyes are on Sochi," said Jonathan Worsley, Bench Events chairman. "We are delighted that the city will host RHIC this year. There is an incredible buzz and excitement about Sochi. Colleagues in the travel and tourism industry are looking forward to seeing the Olympic Park and the region's new hotels in person with Sochi's preparations for the Winter Olympic Games in full swing."

Total investment in the region is expected to exceed $50 billion. Morgan Stanley has reported that infrastructure spending is expected to account for 7 percent of Russia's rising GDP at least until 2018 as Moscow and regional governments improve facilities for the FIFA World Cup Finals.

"Beyond the Olympics, the next five years will see the sector drawing in new investment and development opportunities," said Kerry Gumas, Questex president & CEO. The number of international brand hotels in Russia is expected to increase from 87 to 220 by 2018, and the total number of international brand hotel rooms will more than double from 21,885 to 47,5341.

The Carlson Rezidor Hotel Group, Host Sponsor of RHIC, is one of the fastest-growing hotel companies worldwide as well as being a leading international hotel operator in Russia/CIS. The doors to the Radisson Blu Resort & Congress Hotel in Sochi opened in January this year. "We are excited to be hosting this year's RHIC and bringing the region's most prestigious hotel investment conference to Sochi at such an important time," said Wolfgang M. Neumann, Rezidor Hotel Group president & CEO.

RHIC is the industry's premier event in Russia, bringing together the region's largest gathering of hotel investors, developers, brands, operators, financiers, advisors and government officials under one roof. Attendees will gain insights from Russian and global leaders as to where the real opportunities lie in the region, discover successful strategies from those already operating in the market and hear from government officials and top economists on the latest forecasts and trends. Additional information is available at www.russia-cisconference.com.

About Bench Events
Bench Events has a long track record of delivering, with its partners, the premier hotel investment events in Europe, the Middle East and Africa. Bench Events Chairman Jonathan Worsley is one of the organisers and founders of the highly successful International Hotel Investment Forum, now in its 16th year. In 2005, he was responsible for launching the Arabian Hotel Investment Conference in Dubai and in 2008 launched the Russia & CIS Hotel Investment Conference. In 2011 Bench Events added two events to the portfolio, co-hosting the Turkey & Neighbours Hotel Investment Conference and launching the Africa Hotel Investment Forum. In 2012 Bench Events co-hosted the British Hospitality & Tourism Summit in London. For more information, visit www.benchevents.com

About Questex Media Group

Questex Hospitality + Travel, the largest multimedia organization in the world dedicated to hospitality and travel, drives revenue, productivity and value creation for these related industries through strategic investment and deal-making forums, powerful lead-generation tools, interactive online business solutions, world-class events and industry-leading publications.

Questex Hospitality + Travel operates throughout the United States and Americas regions, EMEA and Asia/Pacific through a variety of market-leading properties and services including International Hotel Investment Forum (IHIF) Berlin, North America Hotel & Tourism Investment Conference, Asia Pacific Hotel Investment Conference, Asia Pacific Tourism Destination Investment Conference, Brazil Hospitality Investment Conference, Russia & CIS Hotel Investment Conference, Turkey & Neighbours Hotel Investment Conference, HOTEC Design North America and HOTEC Operations & Technology North America; lead generation portal HotelManagement.net; industry news delivery services in print, online and mobile worldwide via IHIF: Hotel Investment News along with Hotel Management and HA+D magazines. For more information please visit www.questex.com.

Sally Marwaha
Event Manager, Bench Events
+44 (0) 20 3318 5800 ext 7
Questex

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