AHIF To Promote Hospitality Investment in Southern Morocco

Rabat – The African Hospitality Investment Forum (AHIF) will host an in-person event in Morocco with the aim of promoting foreign investments in the African country, with a focus on Southern Morocco, in order to boost the hospitality sector.

The event takes place at the five-star Fairmont resort in Taghazout Bay near Agadir on November 2 – 4. It intends to bring together leaders and investors in the hospitality sector from across the African continent and the world and provide opportunities for networking and business deals.

Imad Barrakad, Chairman and CEO of the Moroccan Society of Tourism Engineering (SMIT), which is one of the forum’s sponsors, expressed his delight that Morocco is, once again, hosting the AHIF and “showcasing the opportunities that are available for investors outside the established cities of Casablanca and Marrakech.”

The event will showcase projects that are ready for investment in different parts of Morocco, with a focus on southern Morocco, including an investment plan of $1.2 million (MAD 12 million) near the City of Guelmim.

Managing Director of law-firm The Bench, AHIF’s organizer, Mattews Weihs said that hosting the forum in Taghazout, Agadir “will allow us to increase the networking opportunities within the event.” He added that AHIF intends to “fully utilise the resort and incorporate into our programme lawn or poolside talks and activities such as golf tennis or yoga.”

The forum will include presentations, panel discussions, and exhibitions, Weihs added, pledging to offer the attendees an “immersive AHIF experience.”

According to AHIF, the main topics that the event will focus on are “public-sector tourism investment incentives, a global economic overview of Africa, investors’ view on opportunities, contingency planning and crisis management, alternative business models – franchise vs management, localising a brand, growth of alternative lodging, and sustainability in hospitality.”

Morocco’s National Tourist Office launched its “Light Tour” between 17 and 19 May in Paris, London, and New York, to promote Morocco as a tourist destination and help revive Morocco’s tourism sector after the COVID-induced disruptions.