The Association has come a long way, with its share of ups and downs but its achievements cannot and should not be taken lightly. So, I feel it is befitting that I pay tribute to the IH&RA in my final address as President to all our valued members, esteemed partners, hospitality executives and operators in this timely newsletter.

I congratulate IH&RA on its achievements in the past 60 years, defending the interests of hotels & restaurants worldwide and protecting your bottom-line. To see a list of IH&RA achievements, go to: https://ih-ra.com/advocacy/achievements.php

The Association’s achievements in the last year alone are significant both in its numbers and scope – recruitment of 30 new members and partners; publication of an industry guideline to protect travel industry integrity on the Internet; the securing of an EU Tender for a crisis prevention and management programme to benefit the hospitality industry (United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP); the Association’s Foundation for the Future completed a successful "Visiting Professor Programme" in Ethiopia at end of 2005 (a first of its kind in our industry); the IH&RA website has grown with increasingly more visitors and not to mention the site’s newly added "Marketplace" and "Publications" sections which appear with a fully updated section on "Advocacy"; IH&RA became a founding member of TERN, where at the invitation of the World Tourism Organization (UNWTO), IH&RA has joined the Tourism Emergency Response Network (TERN) that has been set up in cooperation with the World Health Organization (WHO) and other UN agencies to coordinate the tourism industry response to and preparedness for a potential Avian Flu pandemic… just to name a few.

Although I realize that it has been a particularly challenging year, notably with the Congress cancellation and financial constraints, I would like to take this opportunity to thank each and every one of you for your continued support of the Association.

As we elect a new president for the Association, it is critical that each of you, both individually and collectively, select the right leader because it is my sincere belief that the international hotel industry needs the right, strong, focused and unified leadership for the Association to represent the interests of all our members.

These are exciting times for the global hospitality industry; we are the most resilient industry in the world… and we know we are currently in an upswing. The timing for our Association’s leaders and partners to meet in Nice, France could not have been at a better time, as we converge to discuss pertinent issues for the Association in moving forward and being indeed the voice for our industry.

Best regards,

Dieter Huckestein
IH&RA President