BDO's Mehmet Önkal to receive Lifetime Achievement Award at CATHIC
Mehmet Önkal, Managing Partner of BDO Hospitality Consulting has been named as the recipient of the Lifetime Achievement Award, to be presented at the Turkey & Neighbours Hotel Investment Conference (CATHIC). Selected by the CATHIC advisory board, the Lifetime Achievement Award is presented in recognition of the remarkable contribution Mr. Önkal has made to the region's hospitality industry throughout his career.
Önkal has over 36 years service in the hospitality industry. In 1978 he joined ITT Sheraton Corporation and held various top management positions, including Regional Controller East Mediterranean, and Vice President Asia Pacific Division. Later, he became GM of Istanbul Princess Hotel and the Princess Hotel Group. He currently serves as Chairman of the Board of Directors of BDO Hospitality Consulting and has been a managing partner since 1997. Önkal commented "It is a really important and proud moment for me, to know that the industry recognises my duties as a consultant, to be honoured with the CATHIC Lifetime Achievement Award."
Jonathan Worsley, Chairman of Bench Events and co-organiser of CATHIC, congratulated Önkal on his award. "We are delighted to honour Mehmet with the CATHIC 2014 Lifetime Achievement Award, in recognition of the remarkable contribution he has made to hotel investment in Turkey and surrounding countries. His strategic advice to the investment community has been the bedrock for many of his client's successes."
CATHIC is the region's leading event for the hotel and tourism investment industry and will take place 9-10 June 2014 at the Hilton Istanbul Bomonti Hotel & Conference Center. The Award presentation will take place on 10 June after which Mr, Önkal will share some insights into his achievements in an interview.
About Questex Media Group LLC
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, Brasil 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. www.questex.com.
About FHS World
Dates: 29 September - 1 October 2026
Location: Madinat Jumeirah, Dubai, UAE
Partners:
Visit UAE as Strategic Enabler; Jumeirah as Host Partner; Dubai Business Events as Destination Partner; Knowledge Economic City, Radisson Hotel Group, Taiba Investments, and The Ascott Limited as Strategic Partners; Arada, Club Med, Groupe Barrière, HVS MEA, IHG Hotels & Resorts, Modon Hospitality, Red Sea Global, Rotana Hotels & Resorts, and as Headline partners; Abu Dhabi Hospitality Academy Les Roches, Accor, Aleph Hospitality, BWH Hotels, Compass, Gary Greene Design, GreenbergTraurig, H World International, The Indian Hotels Company Limited (IHCL), J Club, JLL, Knight Frank, KOFISI, Legacy Hotels Holding, Marjan, Millat Group, Minor Hotels, Newby London, Parsons, QUO, Rikas Hospitality Group, Safir Hotels & Resorts, STR CoStar™️, temi, The First Group Hospitality, Tui Hotels & Resorts, Uganda Tourism Board, United Hospitality Management, and Wyndham Hotels & Resorts as Partners; Cavendish Maxwell, FSK & Partners (Speed Networking Partner), Rove Hotels, Shaza Hotels, Start Reverse, and Worldvue as Exhibitors; Accor One Living, digivalet, Global Branded Residences (GBR), Landsberg Residential Consulting, and Sectorlight as FHS Living Partners; Misr AbuDhabi and Zaghloul as FHS Egypt Partners; Global Branded Residence Awards and HAMA MEA as Supporters.