Hotelequip exhibition from 5 Jan

New Delhi: The Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) and the Hotel Association of India (HAI), in association with the Hotel and Restaurant Equipment Manufacturers Association (HOTREMAI) of India are organising the third Hotelequip India to be held in New Delhi from the 5 to 8 January 2002. Minister of Transport, Tourism and Power Ajay Maken will inaugurate the exhibition.

Hotelequip is an international exhibition of equipment and services for hotels, resorts and restaurants, bakery and catering sectors. The four-day exhibition to be held at Pragati Maidan, New Delhi, would be spread over an area of 10,000 sq mtrs with more than 250 exhibitors displaying their products. More than 300 different product categories would be displayed in the exhibition.

The exhibition would attract visitors from different hotels, resorts, restaurant professionals and trade delegates from all over the world especially from the SAARC region, Far Eastern and Middle Eastern and African countries and the US. A large number of professionals from the hospitality industry is likely to take an active part in the fair. Over 50,000 visitors are expected to visit the exhibition.

One of the special events of the exhibition will be the buyer-seller meet between suppliers and top-hotel brasses, suppliers and professionals from hospitals, railways and canteen. In addition to these meetings, a conference of purchase managers of hotels and restaurants will also be held.

Some of the 300-product category to be displayed at the exhibition are air-conditioning and refrigeration system, air and water pollution control, architecture and landscaping, bakery equipment, crockery and cutlery, electrical appliances, food and beverages, housekeeping equipment, glass and glassware, kitchen and catering, interior design and accessories, laundry equipment, safety and security systems, swimming pool equipment, toilet fittings and toiletries, vacuum cleaners and water purification systems and others.

The show is actively supported by the Association of Resource Company for the Hospitality industry, the Society of Indian Bakers and Indian Culinary Forum. Concurrent to Hotelequip India, CII and ICF, in association with the National Council of Hotel Management and Catering Technology, the ministry of tourism and the Hotel Association of India, are also organising Culinary Art India.

Besides endeavouring to showcase to the world culinary expertise of Indian chefs and establishing gastroomy as a rewarding career, Culinary Art also attempts to upgrade and highlight the culinary standards of the young chefs. Over 150 chefs from all over the world are expected to participate in the contest.

Since suppliers and manufacturers in the hospitality industry suffer from very little exposure to end-users of their products, CII believes that events such as Hotelequip would help in bridging the gap by bringing together on one platform the largest cross-section of the hotel industry from across the globe.

The meet will also provide an ideal launch pad for bringing together different players in the hospitality industry and provide the consumer a direct contact with the entire spectrum of the service sector.

The previous show of Hotelequip India had achieved tremendous success for the hospitality industry in India. The show has graduated to a major show by diversifying into bakery equipment and has become the first ever hospitality-centric exhibition in India, presenting the best in the hotel industry.

According to CII, the hotel industry in India is expected to experience a major boom in the next five years with the arrival of the foreign tourists to India projected to rise to 5 million and domestic tourists to 200 million from the 2.6 million foreign tourists and 170 million domestic tourists at present. This means that the existing infrastructure facility has to be upgraded with addition to new capacity.