H.E. Zayed bin Rashid Alzayani was appointed Minister of Industry, Commerce and Tourism in December 2014.

Prior to his appointment, Alzayani led his family business as the chairman of Alzayani Investments, Euro Motors, Zayani Motors, Zayani Leasing, Zayani Properties, Alzayani Industries and Orient Motors.

In addition, he also served as the Managing Director of First Motors and Chairman of the Bahrain International Circuit (BIC) until 2016.

Alzayani graduated from Boston University, where he received his MBA in Finance and was a former Board Member of Boston University International Advisory Board.

Alzayani currently serves as the Chairman of Bahrain Tourism and Exhibitions Authority and was recently appointed Chairman of Gulf Air Board in April 2017.

His Excellency sits on the boards of the Economic Development Board (EDB), Gulf Aviation Academy, Bahrain Airport Company and the Business Family Network as well as acting as the Minister in charge of Bahrain Bourse from 2016. He is also a member of the International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS).

Priyanka Kapoor, Group Director & Senior Regional Director EMEA for Sales, Marketing, Branding and Communications at Swiss-Belhotel International, holds over 20 years of outstanding experience in the Hospitality and Airlines industry working with leading brands such as Hyatt Hotels and Jet Airways. Currently at Swiss-Belhotel International, with a portfolio of 145 hotels and projects, she is responsible for sales, marketing and revenue growth strategies at a Group level while managing the requirements of EMEA region more closely.

In keeping with the market trends, Priyanka leads the team with innovative ideas while consolidating the company goals with the ever-changing market situations and expectations of clients and owners.

She is a Certified Revenue Management Executive (CRME) through HSMAI and holds a diploma in Executive MBA in Global Ivy League curriculum, from Emeritus Institute, Singapore.

Laurent A. Voivenel is the Senior Vice President – Operations and Development, Europe Middle East, Africa and India, and Senior Vice President – Group Human Resources and Talent Development for Swiss-Belhotel International. He holds over 30 years of extensive international hotel and asset management experience with some of the world’s leading and most prestigious hospitality brands including Starwood Hotels & Resorts and Hilton Hotels & Resorts.

Prior to joining Swiss-Belhotel, Laurent was the Chief Executive Officer of HMH – Hospitality Management Holding for over three and a half years and was the primary driving force behind repositioning HMH as the Middles East’s largest and most credible operator in the dry segment while setting in motion aggressive expansion.

With a Master’s degree in Business Administration (MBA), Laurent has a proven track record in areas of corporate mergers and acquisitions, hotel development and investment, multi-brand operations, as well as outstanding management experience across Europe, Asia Pacific and the Middle East.

Being based in the Middle East for the last 18 years, Laurent also has a deep understanding of the region’s unique business dynamics and culture that has resulted in a solid network and close ties with hotel owners, developers and investors.

Yariv Fisher, entrepreneur and expert in the JCC, co-founder and chairman of Flyeast and Global Remit companies.

Flyeast is Israel’s principal aviation and tourism company, with a vast global operation in south East Asia.

Global Remit is one of the leading Fintech and Trade Company at the Israeli market, representing several banks and fintech.

Scott Livermore is the Chief Economist of Oxford Economics Middle East and based in Oxford’s Dubai office. He is also Managing Director of Consultancy in the Middle East and Asia, as well as a member of Oxford Economics’ Senior Management Team. Scott leads many of the major projects in the GCC and Asia which have recently included capacity building, macroeconomic modelling, and policy impact assessment engagements for government institutions in the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, and Oman, and IFRS 9 and Stress Testing engagements in Singapore, Thailand, and Hong Kong.

After completing a degree in Philosophy, Politics and Economics at St. Edmund Hall, Oxford University, and an MSc in Economics at University College London, Scott joined Oxford Economic Forecasting in 1997. During his initial five years at OEF, he worked as a country analyst for a number of European countries and participated in numerous consultancy projects for a variety of international organisations, governments and multinational companies using both Oxford Economics’ Global Economic Model and bespoke economic models.

Scott rejoined Oxford Economics in 2005 as a senior economist after spending two years at the Ministry of Finance in the Slovak Republic assisting with the government’s medium-term macroeconomic framework and developing the analytical capacity of the ministry to prepare such forecasts. He has also held the positions of Managing Director of Macro and Industry Services, Managing Director of Macro Consulting, and COO of Oxford Economics USA.

Wednesday, 7 April 2021

Ministerial Panel:
Investing in Sustainable Travel and Tourism projects in Africa and restarting the sector in the post Covid-19 era

Thursday, 8 April 2021

Watch the full summit as it was live streamed on the 8 April.

Morning conversations

Economic Outlook: The economic landscape to optimise investment opportunities in the tourism sector in Africa

An enriching dialogue: How vaccination process will contribute to restore trust and a sense of security to restart the travel and tourism sector

Panel Discussion: The changing landscape of capital raising, investment criteria and risk management to attract the ‘right’ investor for your project

Panel Discussion: Rebuilding Africa’s travel and tourism sector while enhancing its resilience

Panel Discussion: The critical need of effectively branding and marketing Africa as a single destination

Investment opportunities: Presentation Tourism Projects in quest of investment

Closing