Horeca annual hospitality forum, kicks off in Lebanon

The 22nd edition of the annual Horeca forum kicked off yesterday at the Biel compound under the auspices of the Minister of Tourism Michel Pharaon.  The Director General of Hospitality Services, Jumana Dammoos Salameh noted that the focus this year will be on rewarding young skills and creativity and highlighting Lebanese chefs through various competitions. In his opening address, Minister Pharaon reminded the audience of the events in 2014 when the situation of the tourism sector was bleak with a drop of 40%. He added that initiatives such as Horeca succeeded in stimulating the sector which grew by 23% last summer, 25% in the last three month of 2014 and 28% in the first trimester of 2015. This year, Horeca will include three exhibitions namely the international hospitality and food services forum, the food processing exhibition and the Beirut international wine and spirits exhibition. The event involves 350 exhibitors, 25 international experts and 500 participants in 20 competitions and daily workshops. (Al Diyar, 20 April 2015)