The Future Hospitality Summit (FHS) in Saudi Arabia has started with a flurry, with over 50 leading hospitality brands attending the two-day gathering at Riyadh Airport Marriott Hotel. The exhibition area is looking high-spirited with leaders from all these brands talking all about hospitality investments.

The breakout sessions at Future Hospitality Summit have been designed to get industry outlook on specific areas of hospitality that still have immense unexplored potential. The energy looks high so far with HAMA Europe, Aleph, IH, and NEOM in the room.

Under the theme Reimagined Horizons, co-organisors The Bench and MEED, along with Saudi-based organiser SEMARK, have designed the programme around the key themes of the future of hotel development, destination impact, aviation, sustainability, restaurant investment and human capital.

“We’re thrilled to bring three investment communities under one roof at FHS Saudi Arabia this year; Saudi Hospitality Investment Conference (SHIC), Global Restaurant Investment Forum (GRIF) and AVIADEV,” said Jonathan Worsley, Chairman of The Bench.

Hosted by Dur Hospitality, FHS Saudi Arabia kicked off with a Moroccan-themed opening reception showcasing the group’s unique hospitality concepts.

The GRIF community was the first to take the stage at FHS with a series of sessions dedicated to the Kingdom’s F&B investment scene, including a focus on dining trends, new brands and concepts, levering restaurant technology and food sustainability and security.

Mr. Hassan Ahdab, President of Hotels Operation at Dur Hospitality commented: “The last few years have brought radical transformation that, despite being tough, has inspired us to navigate our strategies toward a hospitality market that is more resilient to major shifts and open to change.”

“Saudi Vision 2030 sets the stage for an incredible future for sustainable tourism in the Kingdom. Across nine brands, Hilton is growing its portfolio to more than 75 hotels in the coming years – creating opportunities for our guests to experience Hilton’s Saudi hospitality in many new destinations. Whether it’s a locally flavoured welcome, remarkable culinary experiences, diversity of our teams or sustainable innovations in our hotel operations – we are excited about the Saudi opportunity and see a bright future ahead,” added Jochem-Jan Sleiffer, President, Middle East, Africa and Turkey at Hilton.

A hybrid format is available for those who would like to access some of the conference sessions remotely. Click HERE to watch LIVE.