Hotel and Hospitality Expo expects 6,000 buyers at Saudi Arabia's largest industry gathering
Speaking to Saudi Gazette on the sidelines of the exhibition, which opened Tuesday in Riyadh, Bakshi highlighted the scale and significance of the event.
'This year, the Hotel & Hospitality Expo features 120 exhibitors from 12 countries. This is literally the largest gathering for the hospitality sector in Saudi Arabia,' he said.
Bakshi described the expo as the Kingdom's key platform for networking and development within the hospitality industry.
'This is the only place where all the hospitality professionals meet once a year and discuss the challenges and the trends in the hospitality industry.'
He pointed to human capital as one of the sector's most pressing challenges this year.'When meeting the stakeholders — operators, owners, and government officials — we've understood that talent and human resources are among the key challenges the industry is facing at the moment,' he said.'As an organizer and platform, we are developing content and facilitating dialogue to enhance talent development across the hospitality sector.'Additionally, the Hotel and Hospitality Awards are aimed at showcasing, attracting and developing talent, which benefits the industry. Bakshi noted this year's awards, the fifth edition, had attracted close to 200 nominations. 'We're absolutely looking forward to some strong contenders and, eventually, a deserving winner,' he said.The Hotel & Hospitality Expo has also served as a platform to examine a shift in market strategy. Bakshi added: ''Through our advisory board meetings, we've identified that it's not just premium properties that will thrive in Saudi Arabia, brands are now introducing multiple tiers — tier A and tier B properties — to cater to tourists with varying budgets and preferences,' he added.'As we push for greater tourism into Saudi Arabia, this diversified approach will allow visitors to select accommodation that matches their style and spending capacity. The trend is moving toward multi-tiered offerings within the hospitality sector, aligned with customer budgets.'
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