Questex

NEW YORK (Jan. 6, 2015) ─ Questex Hospitality + Travel has named Alexi Huntley Khajavi executive vice president of its Hospitality Group, responsible for the overall management and development of the company's global hospitality properties and events including the Hotel Management Group, the International Hotel Investment Forum (IHIF) Summit Series, Destination Develop and Destination Develop Investment Services, HOTEC Operations & Technology and other destination and hotel investment events in the U.S., Latin America, Europe, Asia and the Middle East.

Khajavi, who brings more than 17 years of travel, outdoor and publications experience to his position, joined the company in June 2014 as senior managing director of Destination Develop, a new digital media platform covering global tourism industry investment opportunities at the destination level, and Destination Develop Investment Services, an in-house agency that develops marketing and matchmaking campaigns and services for destinations and private-sector businesses in tourism looking for investment.

In that role, he facilitated a partnership with China-based Centre of Asia Hotel Forum (AHF), a leading hotel investment event organizer focused on the Chinese market, to add the AHF International Hotel Investment Summit, one of AHF's iconic events, to the IHIF portfolio.

"Alexi's rounded approach to working in the travel and tourism industry makes him a tremendous asset to further drive measureable results for our hospitality division, which continues to gather momentum across its series of hotel investment events, led by our flagship IHIF Berlin, the Hotel Management Group and HOTEC North America," said Kerry Gumas, president and chief executive officer, Questex LLC. "We anticipate another year of exciting developments for our readers, clients and delegates."

Concurrent with his Questex duties, Khajavi is senior business advisor at the Center for Health and the Global Environment at the Harvard School of Public Health, Boston; advisor board member at KERBspace Inc., a location-based sales and publishing platform based in Bozeman, Montana; founder & president of Adventure Kapitalist, a venture capital firm; director on the executive board of Sustainable Travel International, Washington; and director on the board of governors of Nature Air, an airline based in San Jose, Costa Rica.

Prior to joining Questex, Khajavi was strategic advisor and business analyst for Whole Journeys, an experiential travel company founded by Whole Foods Market. From 2010 to 2013, he was vice president, global strategy, for MercuryCSC, an award-winning marketing firm based in Bozeman. He was an advisory board member for the TravelCom Conference from 2011 to 2012. He cofounded Nature Vacations, a tour operator based in Costa Rica, in 2006 and served as its president until 2011.

Previously, Khajavi cofounded Landings Journal, a travel lifestyle magazine, and served as its publisher and editor-in-chief. He also served as member of the board of the Center for Responsible Travel, Washington and was a founding member, chief operating officer and chief marketing officer of Nature Air, recognized by Conde Nast Traveler and National Geographic magazine as the world's first carbon-neutral airline. As managing director at the nonprofit foundation of Burton Snowboards North America, Burlington, Vermont, he ran the Utah state program that provided low-income, at-risk youth the opportunity to learn about snowboarding and other skills.

Earlier in his career, Khajavi was director of business development at Unexplored, a startup in adventure travel online distribution; was a senior consultant at NatureGate, a boutique consulting firm specializing in international tourism; and communications specialist at Global Exchange, a political advocacy and human rights organization based in San Francisco.

Khajavi earned a bachelor's degree in anthropology and conservation biology at the University of California, Santa Cruz, in 1997.

Questex Hospitality + Travel's Hotel Management Group includes the Hotel Management and Hotel Design digital and print portfolio and the IHIF Hotel Investment News and Destination Develop digital newsletters. Hotel Management magazine, the oldest industry publication focused on hospitality, celebrates its 140th year in 2015.

The IHIF portfolio includes IHIF Berlin, North America Hotel Investment Conference, Asia Pacific Hotel Investment Conference, Russia & CIS Hotel Investment Conference, Mediterranean Resort & Hotel Real Estate Forum, HOTEC Design North America and HOTEC Operations & Technology North America.

About Questex Hospitality + Travel

The Questex Hospitality + Travel Group of Questex LLC serves the worldwide hospitality, travel and related industries that together contribute over $6 trillion the global gross domestic product. Through an innovative platform of targeted solutions, the group serves the sector's entire ecosystem, from tourism and hotel development and investment to hotel design, purchasing, management and operations.

The Questex Hospitality + Travel Group serves every B2B segment of the industry, from investment and development to management operations, sales and marketing of hospitality and travel products to destination development and marketing, via proven demand generation, learning, loyalty and rewards solutions as well as a network of live events. This division of Questex is aligned around three broad market segments – hospitality, travel and meetings – and supported by its Digital Media staff.

Additional information is available at questex.com/markets/hospitality-travel.

Evy Apostolatos
RDR PR LLC
973-452-7208
Questex

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