5th Asia Pacific Hotel Investment Conference to be Held in Bangkok 15-16 May

Skyrocketing visitor arrivals and Thai Government plans to invest billions of Baht into tourism infrastructure are behind the decision to hold one of the region's leading hotel investment conferences in Bangkok for the first time.

The 5th Asia Pacific Hotel Investment Conference, an IHIF Summit organised by Questex Hospitality Group, will be held from 15th-16th May at the Dusit Thani, Bangkok.

Chanin Donavanik, Managing Director & Chief Executive Officer, Dusit International, heads up an all-star cast of speakers drawn from the region's hospitality heavy hitters.

The list also features Thailand hotel pioneers including Ashwani 'Sunny' Bajaj, Managing Director, Amburaya Hotels & Resorts, Kevin Beauvais, Co-Founder and CEO, Zinc | InVision Hospitality, Six Senses Hotels President Bernhard Bohnenberger, TCC Hotels Group Senior Executive Vice President Wayne Buckingham, Marisa Sukosol Nunbhakdi, Vice President, Sukosol Hotels, lebua Hotels and Resorts CEO Deepak Ohri, and Akaryn Hospitality Management Services (AHMS) Founder and Managing Director Anchalika Kijkanakorn, recently elected the first female Chairman of the Board of Small Luxury Hotels of the World.

Maverick branding visionary James Stuart of The Brand Company, Benjamin Cha, Executive Director and Head, HKR Asia Pacific, Aron Harilela, Chairman and CEO of Harilela Hotels, and Sun Hung Kai Properties Hotels CEO Ricco DeBlank lead a strong Hong Kong contingent out of a total roster of more than 50 speakers.

More than 300 delegates are expected at the conference, including over 200 hotel owners/investors, operators, developers, policy makers, designers, architects and master planners in Asia.

Topics for keynote addresses and panel discussions include Seizing Opportunities in the Most Desirable Hotel Investment Markets, Identifying Under-valued and Under-served Markets in Asia, Sourcing Debt to Finance Growth in Today's Market, How to Grow from Owning One Hotel to Owning Many, and The ASEAN Tourism Masterplan and its Impact on Investment Landscapes.

"Thailand is emerging as the hub for tourism in the region, with over 23 million arrivals expected in 2013 and the government expecting tourism revenues exceeding THB2 trillion by 2015," said Questex Hospitality Group VP, Marilyn McHuge. "This exploding market will receive a further boost following the introduction of a master plan that has been designed for the sector by the Ministry of Tourism and Sports, with 28 infrastructure projects approved or in the pipeline and many more on-ground opportunities to discover."