The Tourism Business Council of South Africa (TBCSA) reports that its yearly Hospitality Investment Conference Africa (HICA) provides local and international industry leaders with a platform to explore investment opportunities available within sub-Saharan Africa’s hospitality sector and an opportunity to network and share experiences.

The conference is convened and organised by the TBCSA in partnership with the Department of Tourism, First National Bank, the Rezidor Hotel group, property consulting company Grant Thornton Strategic Solutions and hospitality group Pam Golding’s hospitality division.

It is targeted at business leaders and professionals who are already operating in the hospitality sector or the broader travel and tourism industry, as well as those who have a keen interest in entering the sector. The conference also attracts pro- fessionals from other sectors, such as property development and construction, finance and the public sector.

TBCSA communications coordinator Kagiso Mosue says that the conference was launched in 2007 and aims to facilitate growth within this sector.

She explains that the conference provides an important platform for industry role- players to engage with one another and allows them to debate and find solutions to some of the challenges that the industry faces. “It also provides smaller entrepreneurs with an opportunity to seek advice, to develop interest for the hospitality sector and network with highly skilled and experienced captains of industry,” she adds.

The theme of this year’s conference, which takes place from October 31 to November 2, is sustainable growth of Africa’s market share.

Mosue says that HICA could not be hosted at a better time, considering that the country has just hosted the FIFA World Cup, which has given more weight to the importance of business sustainability in the future.

HICA will explore the economic sustain- ability of businesses and will also examine how this sector can maintain the momentum and the sense of working together that the industry has seen permeate during the football spectacle.

The conference has a talk show format, which makes it easier for speakers to engage with the audience during the plenary session. There will be dedicated sessions for certain issues, such as investment opportunities past the 2010 FIFA World Cup, debt renegotiation in the economic downturn and lifestyle ecotourism, which explores ecotourism investment opportunities.