MOSCOW, Russia--Mayor of Moscow, Yuri Mikhailovich Luzhkov, will receive the first-ever Russia & CIS Hotel Investment Conference (RHIC) Leadership Award. The RHIC Advisory Board selects an individual who through his leadership has impacted the direction of the hotel industry. The award will be presented to Luzhkov on Tuesday, 21 October 2008 in front of hundreds of international hotel and investment professionals attending RHIC to explore investment opportunities in Russia and the CIS. RHIC will be held at the Ritz-Carlton in Moscow on 21-22 October 2008.
“While there are many great contributors of the growth in the hotel sector in Russia, we wanted to look back on a longer term horizon for this important recognition," said Marius Gomola, Horwath HTL Hungary & Russia and RHIC Advisory Board. "Taking a strategic perspective, we believe that Mayor Luzhkov's recognition of the severe shortage of quality hotel accomodation in Moscow was an impediment to not only the growth of the tourism industry, but the economy as a whole. His action on starting to bridge the gap with legislative tools has been the single greatest contribution to facilitating hotel investment. This has led to developers' and lenders' recognition of hotels as vehicles for creating shareholder value in the fast-changing real estate sector in Moscow, Russia and the CIS region."
Mr. Luzhkov was elected the Moscow City Mayor in June 1996 and in December 1999. He was then re-elected in 2003. Mr.Luzhkov is an author of more than 200 printed publications as well as books on social and economical development of Russia. He has also over 50 patents for inventions. Luzhkov is also Honorary Professor of Russian Academy of Sciences, of Moscow State University, of Academy of Labor and Social Relations, of other Russian and foreign universities as well as an academician in several Russian academies. Luzhkov was born on September 21, 1936 in Moscow. He is married to Elena Baturina, founder of Inteko, and has four children.
The Russia & CIS Hotel Investment Conference (RHIC) programme is led by a powerful line-up of more than 60 speakers including HRH Prince Michael of Kent, who is Conference Patron. To access a full list of participating speakers and review the conference programme in detail, please visit: www.russia-cisconference.com/programme.
The Russia & CIS Hotel Investment Conference will run from 21-22 October 2008 at the Ritz-Carlton, Moscow, and is jointly organised by Bench Events and Questex Media Group, Inc.
Sponsors and supporters:
Platinum Sponsors confirmed to date include:
Jones Lang LaSalle Hotels (Founder Sponsor); Horwath HTL Hungary & Russia; Hilton Hotels; The Rezidor Hotel Group
Gold Sponsors:
Accor Hospitality; AZIMUT Hotels Company; Christie + Co; CMS; Corinthia Hotels; DTZ Hospitality Group; Hotel Baltschug Kempinski Moscow; HVS; InterContinental Hotels Group; Interstate Management Services; King Sturge; Korston Group; Salans; Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc; UMACO; Warimpex AG; WATG and Wyndham Hotel Group International.
Media Sponsors:
Arch Journal, Destinations of the World News, Breaking Travel News, Design & Interior Russia, GlobalHotelNetwork.com, Hotel Analyst, Hotel & Motel Management, Hotel & Restaurant Russia, Hotel Design, Luxury Hotelier, SNIP, The Capital of The Country, The Hotel Times, The Moscow Times, Tourism ROI and TTG Russia.
Supporters:
Ecole hôtelière de Lausanne, International Hotel & Restaurant Association; International Tourism Partnership, NativeEnergy, PATA, SADKO, Troy Group and World Travel & Tourism Council.
About the organisers:
Bench Events - A Portal for the Hotel Industry
As organisers of top conferences for the hotel and investment industry, Bench Events is a growing entity which currently hosts hotel investment conferences in Berlin, Dubai and Moscow in partnership with other leading providers. Jonathan Worsley, Chairman of Bench Events is one of the organisers and founders of the International Hotel Investment Forum held each year in Berlin. In 2005, he was responsible for launching the successful Arabian Hotel Investment Conference in Dubai and in 2008, is hosting the Russia & CIS Hotel Investment Conference in Moscow. Worsley sits as an advisor to the World Travel & Tourism Council which represents many of the leading companies operating worldwide in the travel and tourism industry. He is also a shareholder and board director of STR Global which is the new entity for global benchmarking outside North America following the merger of The Bench, Smith Travel Research and Deloitte’s Hotel Benchmark.
Questex Media Group:
Questex Media Group, Inc. is a global, diversified business-to-business media organization serving multiple industries including hotel and hospitality, travel, technology, beauty, spa and other specialty industries. Strategically, Questex places a strong emphasis on serving the hospitality market and has created the HotelWorld Network, which provides access within all facets of the lodging industry. Questex's HotelWorld Network includes publications such as Hotel & Motel Management, Hotel Design, Luxury Hotelier and The Hotel Times. Also, the HotelWorld Network presents events including the International Hotel Investment Forum, HotelWorld Expo & Conference as part of International Hospitality Week, HOTEC events and the Russia & CIS Hotel Investment Conference.
For more information and to register, please visit or contact:
Jonathan.Worsley@benchevents.com +44 (0)1483 835794
Sally.Marwaha@benchevents.com +44 (0)1244 341956