Future Hospitality Summit - FHS World Dubai Reveals First Speakers, Announces New Features and Zooms in on Industry Specifics for 2024 Event

Dubai, UAE. 8 July 2024. FHS World, the region’s flagship hospitality investment event, has revealed its first speakers, a wealth of new features and special initiatives dedicated to women in the sector for the 2024 event, taking place at Dubai’s Madinat Jumeirah, 30 September – 2 October.  

With more speakers, sessions and sponsors than ever before, the three-day, action packed FHS World agenda will include the industry’s most respected, influential hospitality leaders, decision makers and experts – as well as renowned leaders from the media fraternity.

Jonathan Worsley, Chairman of FHS World organiser, The Bench, said: “After delivering a hugely successful FHS Saudi Arabia, we are now fully focussed on bringing the biggest, boldest and best Future Hospitality Summit to date to Dubai. As we embark on the next leg of our remarkable journey, we are delighted to be back at Madinat Jumeirah – our original home – for FHS World, which promises to be the most insightful, immersive and personalised experience in our 19-year history.

“FHS is, and always will be – about so much more than just business. It’s a dynamic platform for nurturing relationships, igniting innovation, and collectively shaping the future of hospitality investment while creating lasting and meaningful experiences, together.  FHS World is a golden opportunity for the industry to showcase its brands – and the leadership and expertise associated with those brands – while connecting with travel, hospitality and tourism thought leaders from across the world.

“Having added The Arena of Madinat Jumeirah to our canvas this year, we have almost doubled our floor space, bringing more opportunities to showcase and celebrate our industry’s achievements and exciting future. Look out for special focuses on technology and sustainability, green buildings, hotelisation of real estate and more.  Plus, for the first time, there will be a dedicated Investor Relations Drive where we will connect investors to projects and partners.”

Michael Grieve, Chief Brand Officer, Jumeirah, host sponsor of FHS World, said: “Jumeirah regards the Future Hospitality Summit World as an engaging platform for thought leaders and visionaries shaping the trajectory of the hospitality industry. Our support as the host sponsor is reflective of our ambition to position Jumeirah as a brand of influence—a global majlis for dialogue and connection—where collaboration and innovation are fostered across communities. Hosting this event as the national champion of Dubai, a city that epitomises transformation and breathes innovation, amplifies its significance. Together with our industry peers, we are contributing to a legacy of transformational impact.”

Speakers and seminars take centre stage

Among the first confirmed speakers for FHS World are Satya Anand, President, Europe, Middle East & Africa (EMEA), Marriott International; Philip Barnes, Chief Executive Officer, Rotana; Robin Rossmann, Managing Director, STR; Fahad Abdulrahim Kazim, Chief Executive Officer, Millennium Hotels & Resorts & Lakhraim Group; John Pagano, Group CEO, Red Sea Global Stephen Sackur, Presenter, HARDTalk; Pat Thaker, Editorial Director, Middle East & Africa, The Economist Group; Choon Wah, Chief Financial Officer (CFO), H World International and Managing Director, Steigenberger Hotels GmbH; Dr. John Blakey, CEO, Executive Coach & Author; Tatiana Labaki, Head of Hotels and Tourism Advisory, PSU, Tonomus, and Pascal Armoudon, Partner, Kearney.

Participants will take centre stage, sharing their valuable insights with a carefully designed programme covering trends, sustainability, destination development, Middle East investment opportunities and more.  Addressing everything from hotel investment to health and wellness, ESG matters to entrepreneurship and regional trends to risk management, the FHS World agenda will run across four dedicated stages – Summit, Future, Innovation and Exhibition – each dedicated to specific topics and themes.

Home to the most exciting keynote speeches, panel debates and one-to-one interviews, the Summit Stage will feature the ever-popular FHS Intelligence Talks, the finals of the Sustainable Hospitality Challenge and in depth debates on global investment trends. Meanwhile, at the Future Stage, presenters will dive deep into regional investment trends and the hospitality sector in specific locations, including Africa, Europe, Saudi Arabia and the wider GCC. There will also be a special focus on the future of tech in hospitality.   

The Innovation Stage will be the platform for in depth sessions on health and wellness, branding, asset management and restaurant investment, while the Exhibition Stage is dedicated to all things entrepreneurship, creativity and wellbeing.

What’s new at FHS World?

A wealth of new features, covering investors, innovation, international representation and more will be unveiled at FHS World this September.

The investor relations drive will provide even more opportunity to connect investors with opportunities and partners, thanks to the growing FHS investor relations team. The FHS World team has also introduced Country Pavilions, where individual nations can showcase their upcoming hospitality projects and high ROI ventures.  Morocco, Italy and the Maldives have already reserved their spots, with more in the pipeline including large presence from Saudi Arabia on the exhibition floor.

As the region’s hospitality and tourism industry continues to expand and evolve, so does the FHS World conference arena, which, this year, features dedicated zones for key hospitality-related topics. Technology businesses will exhibit their offerings at the much-anticipated Tech Zone, while the ESG Lab will address all things environment, sustainability and governance.  

Female forces: the future of hospitality

FHS World is reinforcing the increasingly important role of women in the Middle East’s hospitality as the chosen venue to host the semi finals of the United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) Women In Tech Start Up Competition. The event will be held on the first two days of FHS World on the Exhibition Stage.

Launched to recognise and reward entrepreneurship among females and find the most innovative, female-run tech-driven start-ups in the realm of tourism, the Middle East contest covers four categories: Social Impact; Tourism and Travel Experience; Future Tech; and Events and Community.

Get full details and register for FHS World at https://www.futurehospitality.com/ae

About The Bench

The Bench has established a legacy for delivering world-leading investment forums and conferences in Europe, Africa, the Middle East, and Latin America. The key principle behind these platforms has remained ‘dealmaking’. Transforming the way business connect, Bench has developed a reputation for creating innovative and high-impact meeting spaces for the industry.

For over two decades - government leaders, tourism ministries, global travel & tourism associations, the world’s most influential hospitality brands, hotel owners & investors, renowned restaurant groups, airlines & aviation authorities, destination developers, asset managers, financial groups and consultants – have been participating in The Bench’s events for their respective objectives. These include AHIC, AHIF, GRIF, FHS, AHF, IDEEA, AviaDev and RENEW –where industry players showcase their brands, position themselves as thought leaders or innovators, and connect with the right opportunities and knowledge.

Learn more on thebench.com

About FHS World

Dates:                           30 September – 2 October 2024

Location:                       Madinat Jumeirah, Dubai, UAE

Sponsors:

Jumeirah as Host Sponsor; Italia Hospitality, Maldives Fund Management Corporation and SMIT Morocco as Country Pavilion Sponsors; Hilton, NEOM, New Murabba, Radisson Hotel Group and Taiba Investments as Platinum sponsors; Accor, Club Med, IHG Hotels & Resorts, Marriott International, Millennium Hotels and Resorts, Minor Hotels, Red Sea Global and Rotana as Emerald Sponsors; Action Hotels, Adyen, Aleph Hospitality, ARC, Ark People Solutions, Barriere Group, CBRE, Colliers, Compass Project Consulting, Dusit International, ELAF, Enterprise Greece, HVS, Hyatt, IHCL, JLL, JT & Partners, Kearney, Knight Frank, LEVA, Louvre Hotels Group, Quo, Rikas Hospitality Group, Rove Hotels, Shaza Hotels, Sommet Education, The Ascott Limited, TUI Hotels & Resorts, United Hospitality Management, Unox and Wyndham Hotels & Resorts as Gold Sponsors; Aldar, COREcruitment, EHL, H World International, STR and Time Hotels as Silver Sponsors; SOHO Hospitality as Gold Sponsor - Restaurant Invest; Forsite Creative as Data Partner - Restaurant Invest; Lokalee as Start-up Exhibitor; Lock Stock & Barrel as After Party Host; HAMA, World Sustainable Hospitality Alliance, Sustainable Hospitality Challenge, The Emirates Academy of Hospitality Management and UN Tourism as Supporters.