| January 2008 - At the end of last year, IH&RA move
their operations from Paris France to set up its new office in Geneva,
Switzerland after 65 years of presence in France. IH&RA is now settled
in the heart of the International Organizations, facing the United Nations.
Why Geneva? IH&RA found in Geneva a practical location, in the very
center of the world, highly convenient for its committee and for its members
to join. The city offers both a business friendly environment and a cosmopolite
atmosphere which, among others, fit to the IH&RA's values.
Dr. Ghassan Aidi, President of IH&RA, did point out that "the decision
to transfer our operations center to Geneva after being so long in Paris,
is because we need to move toward 'The Next Generation', upgrade and modernize
our administrative structure. It was a tough decision but the move and
relocation went smooth as we had the best help from the Canton and the
City of Geneva. It was a challenge for IH&RA but I had a wonderful
team from Switzerland that helps me with the installation of our premise".
The President also said "Now we are getting closer to the United Nations
as our association is officially recognized as the representative of the
private hospitality sector. We will concentrate on our objectives for 2008:
inform, represent, support and defend the position of the hospitality industry
worldwide".
Founded in 1946 the International Hotel & Restaurant Association
- IH&RA (www.ih-ra.com) is the only global business organization representing
the hospitality industry worldwide. IH&RA members are national hotel
and restaurant associations and international and national hotel and restaurant
chains across the globe. Officially recognized by the United Nations, IH&RA
monitors and lobbies all international agencies on behalf of this industry,
estimated to comprise over 300,000 hotels and 8 million restaurants, employ
60 million people and contribute 950 billion USD annually to the global
economy. |
