The influential Forum de l’Investissement Hôtelier Africain (FIHA), which is known for its ability to link up new investors with developers, consultants, contractors, hoteliers and political leaders, has been postponed. Following ITB Berlin’s cancellation and Arabian Travel Market’s postponement, FIHA is yet another trade event to put a halt on its plans as the Corona virus continues to spread.
It was scheduled to take place in Abidjan later this month, but the outbreak of the Coronavirus has affected the event, as an increasing number of delegates have expressed reservations about travelling at this time. Therefore, FIHA’s organiser, Bench Events, and Accor, the host sponsor, have agreed that the best course of action is to delay the event now and give participants sufficient time to reschedule their plans. The meeting will be held on 7-9 July and all current registrations will be automatically transferred.
Jonathan Worsley, Chairman, Bench Events, said: “A number of participating companies are responding to the Coronavirus outbreak by implementing policies to restrict their executives from travelling and we must make sure that our delegates are safe. As FIHA is all about networking and meeting people, that is a genuine challenge. I am grateful to many of our speakers and sponsors who have told us they are willing to reschedule to a later date. We are also grateful to Accor and the Sofitel for being so understanding and flexible.”
In response to the growing concerns, the organizers agreed that the best course of action is to delay the event and give participants sufficient time to reschedule their plans.
FIHA is the largest hotel investment conference in Francophone Africa. In 2019, Morocco hosted the event at the Mansour Eddahbi Hotel in Marrakech.
Despite possibly having a negative impact on the African tourism sector, the postponement of the event is in line with preventive measures worldwide against the spread of the virus.
