The famed BHA Annual Luncheon is getting bigger and better. This year’s gathering took place at Grosvenor House, London on June 24, 2009. The Mayor of London, Boris Johnson was invited as the guest of honor to share his views on tourism.
RateTiger’s Director of Sales Keith Povah and Sr. Sales Manager Sunaina Jagtiani attended the event with some prospective and current clients.
“The champagne reception provided great networking opportunities and an ideal platform for members to interact with some key industry people to understand their take on the current market scenario and get an insight on how they are mapping their road ahead,” said Keith Povah.
BHA Chief Executive Bob Cotton officially opened the event, attended by over 600 people, stressing the significant role that tourism and hospitality industry plays in the UK’s economy. He mentioned how the industry helps create jobs and brings revenue thereby assisting in the revival of the economy.
Before inviting Boris Johnson to address the audience, Bob stressed on the importance of the Government’s role in providing the right kind of environment and encouragement for the industry to operate successfully and grow.
Sunaina really enjoyed the Mayor’s speech and says, “Boris delivered a great speech focusing on current economic trends and its impact on tourism. He applauded the hospitality industry for the immense effort it has put in coping with the market and mentioned how despite the prevailing conditions, there are more hotels opening in London. He also touched upon the plans for 2012 London Olympics and urged greater investments in hospitality sector to ensure that London maximizes the benefits coming its way through this mega sporting event.”
Keith and Sunaina hosted some of the key hospitality members including Marketing magazine’s Travel & Tourism Specialist Alex Brownsell, Len Louis from Classic British, Paul Kay from Greene King Hotels, Stuart Bailey from Splendid Hotel Group, Ghislaine A. Oliver of Hotel Info Ltd., Colette Togus and Darren Kerr from Corus Hotels and Kieran Tobin from Destinations of the World (Europe) Ltd.
The audience represented a good mix of hotels, management companies and travel technology companies. The overall discussion was focused on the current economic trends, however hoteliers highlighted that the scenario was not as bad as they had expected.