I have just completed a particularly busy round of representation and speaking engagements on behalf of IH&RA. This took me from Cairo to India, Hong Kong, Malaysia, London, Paris and finally Geneva, for our latest board and Nace (National Associations of Chief Executives) meeting on June 26-27, 2008.

In Geneva, we hosted our board for its second annual meeting and Nace for the first time and gave them a chance to see our new headquarters, that moved after 63 years from Paris, and introduced them to our new staff, that is handling the Association’s affairs.

In this newsletter, you will find a brief report on the meetings and the decisions taken, updates on our work with the international organizations and news about our members. We will inform you as well on the topics : International Classification and Standardization, Climate Change and Hospitality, Developments and Trends of different origins, Labor Migration, Influence of Natural disasters on the Hospitality Industry, and the involvement of IH&RA with international organizations in Crisis Management and Energy Efficiency Projects.

I would like to mention that our move to Geneva is already giving dividends, since Geneva is the home of many international organizations that we are cooperating with. It gives us an opportunity to meet with them frequently and discuss all matters of the hospitality industry on the most updated time.

During our board meeting, we hosted key executives in the international organizations, who gave presentations to our members about the issues facing the hospitality industry.

Among them we had

• Mr. Brunson McKinley, Director-General of IOM (International Organization of Migration) www.iom.int
• Mr. Geoffrey Lipmann, Assistant Secretary-General of UNWTO (United Nations World Tourism Organization) www.unwto.org
• Mr. Stefanos Fotiou, Program Administrator of UNEP (United Nations Environment Program) www.unep.org
• Mr. Graham Leslie, President of IXEO (Intertravel) www.ix-world.com
• Mr. Christopher Hartley, C.E.O. of Global Hotel Alliance, who introduced GHA, as “voice of the members”, www.globalhotelalliance.com

My recent travels gave me an opportunity to represent IH&RA in different events. But I am mostly proud to report to you that I had a chance to meet members of the IH&RA that were excited to meet a representative of our organization after many years of absence. Among them, I can mention the Hotel Associations of Macedonia and the Balkans, India, Malaysia, Amman, Istanbul, Egypt, Algeria, Morocco and Ireland. I would like to take this opportunity to thank all my hosts for their generous hospitality and fruitful meetings.

There will be no newsletter in August – so I look forward to being in contact with you after. In the meantime, make sure that you register as soon as possible for the IH&RA Annual Congress to be held in Monterrey/Mexico, on 20-22 October 2008! ( See : http://congress.ih-ra.com )

Please join us in this great industry event!

Sincerely
Dr. Ghassan AIDI
President

 

Mr. Nasser Malouche from Tunisia

Dear IH&RA member and friend,

Mr. Malouche was the oldest member active at IH&RA since 1955, he was one of the founders when it did turn from IHA to IH&RA, he was for several years member of the Board, member of the Finance committee, member of the executive committee, Regional Vice president etc…

He was always very supportive to all actions of IH&RA and he did attend all General Assembly worldwide, the last one that he did attend was in Nice/France in 2006.

Mr. Malouche was 85 years and was very active in Tunisia as well as the Arab world. He was Honorary President of Tunisian Hotels Association, Founder and Vice President of Arab Union for Hotels and Tourism since 1971 and was the Founder and the Godfather of the Tunisian Tourism and the Euro Mediterranean Tourism.

Please join me in faxing to the Tunisian Hotels Association
and his family all our deep regrets for his death.

Sincerely
Dr. Ghassan AIDI
President

 

1. Fax    +216 71 342140
2. Fax    +216 71 791281

IH&RA BOARD AND NACE MEETINGS
GENEVA/SWITZERLAND

On June 26 & 27, 2008, the International Hotel & Restaurant Association (IH&RA) had its Board and NACE meetings (National Association Chief Executives) for the second time in the Calvin city, since the well known worldwide association established its headquarters in Geneva early February, this same year.

More than 40 participants of the International hospitality industry from twenty five countries representing all regions of the world, including India, Egypt, Jordan, Qatar, Israel, Turkey, Macedonia and the Balkan region, Poland, Sweden, Switzerland, Spain, Great-Britain, Netherlands, France, Argentina and the USA represented by the NRA (National Restaurant Association), the Hotel Association of New York City (HANYC) and the American Hotel and Lodging Association (AHLA) attend to this meeting.

During these two days conferences, the participants discussed the activities of IH&RA that intensified after the move to Geneva. They discussed as well the major challenges that are facing the Hospitality Industry today, especially topics such as International Classification and Standardization, Climate Change and Hospitality, developments and trends of different origins, influence of natural disasters on the Hospitality Industry, and the involvement of IH&RA with international organizations in crisis management and energy efficiency projects.

The President stated that IH&RA is against international standardization and he clarified to the Secretary-General of ISO this position and it was agreed that no international standardization will be for hotels without the consent of the stakeholders. On classification, he said that IH&RA will support any local or regional classification schemes and will assist the countries that asked for it. He mentioned that right now there are four different countries asking now for assistance for creating the classification system.

The President of IH&RA, Dr. Ghassan Aidi, focused on the commitment of IH&RA and the Hospitality Industry to the handling of the Energy and the Climate Change worldwide, labor relation and efficiency in hotel management and operations. He emphasized the close relation between IH&RA as the only global business organization representing the hospitality industry worldwide with the United Nations organizations that are dealing with this issues. These matters were highlighted by the IH&RA guests’ speakers:

• Mr. Brunson McKinley, Director-General of IOM (International Organization of Migration) www.iom.int
• Mr. Geoffrey Lipmann, Assistant Secretary-General of UNWTO (United Nations World Tourism Organization) www.unwto.org
• Mr. Stefanos Fotiou, Program Administrator of UNEP (United Nations Environment Program) www.unep.org
• Mr. Graham Leslie, President of IXEO (Intertravel) www.ix-world.com
• Mr. Christopher Hartley, C.E.O. of Global Hotel Alliance, who introduced GHA, as “voice of the members”, www.globalhotelalliance.com

The next meetings of IH&RA, National Associations, Chains and Board, as well as the General Assembly will take place during the IH&RA Annual Congress on October 20, 21 and 22, 2008, in Monterrey/Mexico

All information on : ih-ra.com – 46th Annual Congress
 

NRA (National Restaurant Association) REPORT
LEGISLATIVE & REGULATORY ACTIVITY

Union organizing/card check:
The NRA is part of the Coalition for a Democratic Workforce, which is lobbying to retain workers’ rights to private ballots in union elections. In April the CDW launched a major advertising campaign on this issue.

Credit card issues: 
On June 3, President Bush signed into law H.R. 4008, the Credit and Debit Card Receipt Clarification Act!  The Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act (FACTA), which required truncation of credit-card numbers and expiration dates on receipts provided by customers, was unclear and resulted in numerous lawsuits against card-accepting merchants. This important legislation  clarifies the rules governing data on credit card receipts and provides retroactive protection for some merchants.
The NRA also strongly supports a new bill in Congress to provide more transparency in the setting of interchange fees by the credit card companies. The measure was the subject of a House Judiciary Committee hearing in May.

Food prices:
The NRA testified before Congress May 15 on the impact of rising commodity costs on the restaurant industry. We are part of a broad coalition of diverse interests working at the federal and state levels to seek relief, particularly from federal biofuels mandates that are helping to drive up food costs.

Immigration reform:
The Association remains extremely active in efforts to secure comprehensive immigration reform, which collapsed in the Senate in 2007. The Association also has been active in opposing the Department of Homeland Security's "no-match" regulations, which promise tremendous difficulties for businesses and likely the loss of jobs for tens of thousands of legal employees due to reliance on inaccurate government databases. DHS re-issued these regulations in March 2008.

Food safety:
The Association supported the introduction of bipartisan food safety legislation in April, "The Safe Food Enforcement, Assessment, Standards and Targeting Act of 2008." We support

mandatory:
regulations to enhance produce safety, greater funding for the Food and Drug Administration, and expanded recall authority for federal agencies.

Menu labeling:
The Association continues to impose the one-size-fits-all menu labeling regulations that took effect in New York City April 30, requiring restaurant chains with 15 or more units nationwide to add calorie data to menus and menu boards. Those rules are still being litigated. The Association continues to work at the federal level for restaurants to have flexibility and freedom in how they may choose to provide nutrition data to their customers. The Association is urging members of Congress to oppose any proposal that includes a one-size-fits-all menu-labeling approach.

Restaurant depreciation:
The Association is working to pass legislation to provide a permanent 15-year depreciation schedule for restaurant improvements and new construction.

Paid sick leave:
The Association continues to actively oppose inflexible, costly paid sick leave mandates.

IH&RA LAUNCHES ITS 46TH ANNUAL CONGRESS
OCTOBER 20-22, 2008, MONTERREY/MEXICO

The International Hotel & Restaurant Association announced its 46th Annual Congress, to be held between 20-22 October 2008, in Monterrey/Mexico, which will highlight the Latin American Hospitality Industry and its various destinations and develop actual subjects in the Hospitality Industry under this year’s theme : Sustainable Development Worldwide.

Leaders from all parts of the world representing some 200,000 hotels and 7 million restaurants will meet, discuss and exchange ideas about major issues of this year, trying to propose solutions, to assist all members from hotels chains, independent hotels, national associations of various countries, restaurants chains, etc….

Dr. Ghassan AIDI, President of IH&RA, said :

“IH&RA’s Congress this year is the first after we moved to Geneva and we will confirm that IH&RA is moving toward the next generation, as IH&RA is creating value through people and partnerships, developing new leadership skills. IH&RA maintains its official position against exploitation of children in tourism, against International Classification for hotels but keeps supporting Migration of Labor in the hospitality industry, assisting, creating and certifying a tourist destination, handles labor and health issues, crisis management and national disasters prepardness, etc…”

IH&RA’s President also confirmed that this year in Monterrey, the members will elect the first Board of Directors since the move of IH&RA to Geneva, this will be done according to the new statutes in Switzerland : «We are proud to come to Monterrey, which is the emerging business center and tourism destination of Mexico. »

Visit our website at https://ih-ra.com
Or the direct link at http://congress.ih-ra.com
 

IH&RA PICTURES

The F.E.H.G.R.A delegation (Argentina),
during their visit to the headquarters of IH&RA in Geneva.

Some of IH&RA members with the President,
during the IH&RA dinner – June 27, 2008.

INDUSTRY WATCH

It is important to work all together closely at national and international level and to be engage on the main issue that involved the worldwide hospitality industry towards climate neutral process.

The impact of the climate change has raised food prices which are going up constantly, rice has tripled since the beginning of the year, corn and soybeans have been severely impacted by the weather and the fuel grain conversation which affect indirectly or directly the poverty around the world, transportation, oil price is going up etc… all those facts cause a damage to the entire hospitality industry.

Therefore, we need to have a strong approach to support the Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) using the Davos Declaration process and the Sustainable Tourism, the reduction of the poverty around the world, as well being aware and protect the children’s from exploitation in travel and tourism.

IH&RA today is providing opportunities for the hospitality industry sector particularly in response to the challenges of climate changes and poverty reduction.

In this context, together with UNWTO, the UN Environmental Program (UNEP) and under the management of the Business Council Executive Secretariat, the International Hotel & Restaurant (IH&RA) together with its partners has secured a substantial EU grant for the climate innovations projects for small and medium-sized enterprises in the accommodation sector.

IH&RA AND UNEP

To follow up on our jointly activity with UNEP regarding “Disaster Preparedness and Crisis Management” after Tsunami in India and Thailand – The project is now going into the second phase year and has the IH&RA expert (Corporate Safety and Security Advisor of The Rezidor Hotel Group) “reported about the big advances that were made since the project started a year and a half ago till now, this includes special road signs by the municipalities, special evacuation programs assigned locations in case of disaster”.

In June 2008, we had three workshops in India and Thailand and IH&RA facilited this presentation. We worked closely together with the Thai Hotels Associations and Hotel Association of India and we reach around 200 participants from the hospitality industry, including the hotels in the area.

IH&RA expert also visited individual hotels and worked with them on the Crisis management scheme.

At present, together with UNEP we are preparing manuals in local and International languages that will be handed out to the hotels and the guests in these areas. New Project together with UNEP coming soon:

The UNEP has proposed to IH&RA during the latest presentation board and NACE meeting in Geneva in June 2008, a proposal to join their forces in order develop some touristic brochures on awareness for climate change in tourism which the organization, the development together with UNEP and distribution will be assured by IH&RA toward the worldwide hospitality industry.

IH&RA AMBASSADOR TO UFTAA
(UNITED FEDERATION OF TRAVEL AGENTS ASSOCIATIONS)

presented the cooperation plan between the two organizations, as follows :

1. UFTAA and IH&RA will promote program to its members through conventions, online, flyers, all communication channels.
2. UFTAA will promote to all its members through all communication channels the IH&RA members as preferred suppliers.

Preferred suppliers with reliable tourism products of the IH&RA will be introduced to UFTAA members.
This cooperation will bring :

• Reduced marketing cost.
• Access to a network of highly trained Travel Agents globally.
• Preferred suppliers will be known by agents, making them easier to sell.
• Customers will feel confident and are likely to buy ahead of the competition.

UNWTO :
RELAUNCH OF THE PROTECT CHILDREN CAMPAIGN WITHIN THE FRAMEWORK OF THE GLOBAL CODE OF ETHICS FOR TOURISM

 

The Secretary-General of WTO (World Tourism Organization), Mr. Francesco Frangialli, appeals for support to help eradicate child labour and sexual exploitation in the global travel industry :

« According to an estimate by the International Labour Organization, 246 million children are engaged in child labour, while millions are especially vulnerable to exploitation and abuse.

There is a strong link between the tourism industry and child exploitation, especially in countries where economic growth has created an enormous demand for child labour. UNWTO is also concerned about the spiralling growth of sexual exploitation.

In this regard UNWTO is strengthening its efforts to encourage the implementation of the Global Code of Ethics for Tourism and within its framework is relaunching its “Protect Children Campaign.” The campaign is a renewed endeavour to raise awareness across the globe that it is unacceptable for the tourism trade and travelling public to tolerate child exploitation in all its forms.

UNWTO is currently designing a new logo, documents and video that will be launched at World Travel Market in London in early November. The full campaign will take effect on Universal Children’s Day – November 20, 2008.

This will hopefully put the issue of child exploitation in tourism firmly back on the international human rights agenda. We would kindly ask you to wholeheartedly support us in our effort to raise awareness on this matter. At this stage the UNWTO is looking for assistance in a number of areas:

1. Raising Awareness – We are looking for travel partners to promote this cause.
2. Distribution – We will distribute the video, logo and literature from airplanes to hotels
3. Financial -- This will be used for video production and distribution.

This is a good opportunity to be associated with a worthy project that we at UNWTO feel strongly about. For it to be successful the campaign needs the weight of the industry and tourism stakeholders behind it.

We hope you can be part of this effort. This project is being led by Alla Peressolova, () Fairs and Communications Assistance at UNWTO, together with the International Task Force for the Protection of Children in Tourism.

I hope that I will have the pleasure to hear from you soon about this matter. »

Francesco Frangialli.