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The International Hotel & Restaurant Association Convenes in Nice,
France 26-28 October 2006; To Strategize on
Global Hospitality Industry
Paris, 23 October, 2006 -  The International Hotel & Restaurant Association (IH&RA), the only global trade association exclusively representing the hospitality industry worldwide, will convene its worldwide membership in Nice, France this week at the Hotel � Casino Le Palais de la Méditerranée, from 26-28 October 2006.   Meetings will be held for the IH&RA Board of Directors, as well as the IH&RA �Chains Council� representing the world�s leading international and national hotel and restaurant chains and the �NACE� Council comprised of senior executives of national hotel and restaurant trade associations from some 80 countries worldwide.  The meetings will conclude with the IH&RA Annual General Assembly where a new Board of Directors will be elected for 2007. 

�These next meetings in Nice, France will be a great opportunity to meet with IH&RA members from around the world,� says current IH&RA President Dieter Huckestein, CEO of Yellowstone Club World and former Chairman & CEO, Conrad Hotels and President Global Hilton Alliance.  �As this year marks IH&RA�s 60th Anniversary, we�ll reflect on IH&RA achievements over the past six decades but also plan strategically for the future.�

The future for hospitality is filled with both opportunities and challenges that require the careful monitoring of an industry watchdog like IH&RA.  For example, �There is a potentially costly initiative that continues to steam ahead in spite of serious industry concerns,� states IH&RA CEO David McMillan.   ISO � the International Organization for Standardization - Technical Committee (TC228) continues to push for �International Standards for Tourism Services� to include new international standards for accommodation and catering, despite vehement industry opposition.�  

In Nice, IH&RA members will also share information, expertise and best practices across brands and borders.  IH&RA will hold the first �Best Practices� Forum for its national hotel and restaurant trade association members and provide an update on the ongoing work of IH&RA Global Councils on e-commerce and e-marketing; security and crisis and risk management and prevention; standardization and classification; copyright; corporate social responsibility; and human resources.  IH&RA will also update members in Nice on 2006 achievements which include:

  • 30 New IH&RA Members & Partners in the year 2006 
  • IH&RA Publishes �Industry Guidelines to Protect Travel Industry Integrity on the Internet� Available to all IH&RA members, these Guidelines aim to protect consumers� interests on-line as well as enhance working relationships between hotels and their distribution partners while protecting hotel brands (endorsed by TIA, the Travel Industry Association of America, and the Hotel Sales & Marketing Association International � HSMAI � Internet Marketing Committee). 
  • IH&RA & the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) win EU tender for UNEP   
  • APELL Project, �Awareness and Preparedness for Emergencies at the Local Level (APELL)� for  �Improved Disaster Impact Reduction in Tourism Destinations� � work to begin in November 2006.
  • IH&RA Guidelines and Best Practices for Security, Crisis and Risk Management and Prevention Now Underway, with the support of the Oxford Brookes University, UK.
  • IH&RA becomes a founding member of the Tourism Emergency Response Network (TERN), set up by the UNWTO, the United Nations World Tourism Organization, in cooperation with the World Health Organization (WHO) to coordinate industry response to and preparedness for a potential Avian Flu pandemic.  
The meetings in Nice will also provide IH&RA members with another great opportunity to build their international business contacts with a high-profile networking reception to be held at Le Palais de la Méditerranée where the Councillor Mayor of Nice, Madame Marie-Françoise Marron, will give a special welcome to IH&RA members. 

Following the reception, IH&RA members will enjoy an elegant dinner with Guest of Honour Ejnar Söder - President, Nordic Hotels Sweden, Past President of the IH&RA, Trustee of the Foundation for the Future and Chevalier of  �La Confrérie Internationale des Amis de l'Hotellerie et de la Restauration."  At this dinner, IH&RA members will learn how, thanks to the support and dedication of members like Ejnar Söder, the IH&RA Foundation for the Future provides hospitality education to underprivileged youths and launched the first �Visiting Professor Programme� in Ethiopia in 2005, sponsored by Starwood Hotels & Resorts.  

The dinner will then conclude with an Awards Ceremony welcoming two IH&RA members as �Officers of the League of the International Hotel & Restaurant Industry� (�La Confrérie Internationale des Amis de l�Hôtellerie et de la Restauration�) with a grande finale presentation from Anchorage, Alaska, USA � slated to host the 2007 Annual IH&RA Congress. 

For more information on how to attend the IH&RA meetings in Nice, contact Irma Moinet, IH&RA Director of Member Services at [email protected] or go to www.ih-ra.com.

Founded in 1946, the International Hotel & Restaurant Association (IH&RA) is the only global business organisation representing the hospitality industry worldwide. Its members are national hotel and restaurant associations throughout the world, and international and national hotel and restaurant chains representing some 50 brands. Officially recognised by the United Nations, IH&RA monitors and lobbies all international agencies on behalf of this industry, estimated to comprise 300,000 hotels and 8 million restaurants, employ 60 million people and contribute 950 billion USD annually to the global economy.

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Contact:

Summer Jauneaud
Director of Communications
International Hotel & Restaurant Association -  IH&RA
Tel. + 33 (0) 1 44 88 92 24
E-mail: [email protected]  
Website: www.ih-ra.com

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Also See: The International Hotel & Restaurant Association Elects New Board of Directors; Dieter Huckestein, Chairman & CEO, Conrad Hotels, Elected President / December 2005
IH&RA Cancels 43rd World Congress and Human Resources Development Forum Scheduled for Buenos Aires in October, 2006 / August 2006


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