The Asia Pacific Hotel Industry Conference and Exhibition (AHICE) has kicked off at the Adelaide Oval this Wednesday morning with more than 1,400 delegates from across the globe expected to attend this week’s events.
Returning to Adelaide for its third consecutive year, AHICE will explore an extensive range of topics from real estate and hotel development to loyalty, technology and culture with world-class speakers, panel sessions and networking events.
The conference – billed as ‘the hotel event where deals get done’ – attracts some of the largest investors and key decision makers in the global accommodation sector, with delegates attending this year from the United States, Europe, the Middle East, and Asia, as well as across Australia.
AHICE Founder, Chair and Convenor, James Wilkinson, said this year’s conference will be “even bigger and better”.
“Over 1400 executives are attending the 2023 edition of AHICE, which has attracted some of the world’s largest investors in the global accommodation sector from the United States, Europe, the Middle East and Asia alongside the leading developers and owners here in Australia,” Wilkinson said.
“AHICE has grown into the largest and most significant hotel industry conference in the world outside Europe and the United States, and with such strong demand for hotel rooms being experienced here in Adelaide, it is fitting to have South Australia firmly in the spotlight for the global hotel industry.”
Adelaide is an exciting destination for AHICE as the city’s accommodation sector has boomed in recent years with the addition of a range of new hotels and many more in the pipeline including the Marriott Hotel Adelaide at GPO, Holiday Inn and Suites Adelaide Mawson Lakes and the Little National.
New data from STR shows that the city had its best month on record for hotel occupancy in March with an average of 8,376 room nights occupied each night of the month, creating an all-time high of more than $60 million in revenue.
South Australia’s Minister for Tourism and Multicultural Affairs, Zoe Bettison, welcomed the return of the hotel conference to the state, saying major events like these are a powerful boost to business locally.
“Hosting conferences like AHICE is a strong endorsement in our industry here, they give our economy an immediate boost through increased visitation, and they offer the chance to generate business deals that see more private investment coming in, leading to more jobs,” she said.
“Since 2020, we’ve had an incredible pipeline of investment in Adelaide with a string of hotels open or commence construction worth nearly $1.2 billion – including the Marriott GPO Hotel, Oval Hotel, Eos by SkyCity, Hotel Indigo, Sofitel Adelaide and more.
“We’ve also seen major events generate strong demand and record-breaking bookings for our around 10,500 hotel rooms available across Adelaide, events like Harvest Rock, WOMADelaide, the inaugural Gather Round and more recently, LIV Golf Adelaide.”