The Asia Pacific Hotel Industry Conference and Exhibition (AHICE) is in full swing in Adelaide this week, having returned to the South Australian capital for the third consecutive year.

Taking place at Adelaide Oval, 3-4 May, the two-day event is expected to welcome more than 1,400 delegates from around the world, who will come together to explore an extensive range of topics from real estate and hotel development to loyalty, technology and culture with world-class speakers, panel sessions and networking events.

Known as ‘the hotel event where deals get done’, AHICE attracts some of the biggest investors and key decision makers across the global accommodation industry which AHICE founder, chair and convenor, James Wilkinson, said have come from the United States, Europe, the Middle East, Asia and from all over Australia.

“AHICE has grown into the largest and most significant hotel industry conference in the world outside Europe and the United States, and with such strong demand for hotel rooms being experienced here in Adelaide, it is fitting to have South Australia firmly in the spotlight for the global hotel industry,” Wilkinson said.

Adelaide’s accommodation sector has boomed in recent years with the addition of many new hotels and many more in the pipeline including the Marriott Hotel Adelaide at GPO, Holiday Inn and Suites Adelaide Mawson Lakes and the Little National.

South Australia’s Minister for Tourism and Multicultural Affairs, Zoe Bettison, welcomed the return of AHICE, saying major events like these are a powerful boost to business locally.

“Hosting conferences like AHICE is a strong endorsement in our industry here, they give our economy an immediate boost through increased visitation, and they offer the chance to generate business deals that see more private investment coming in, leading to more jobs,” Bettison said.

“Since 2020, we’ve had an incredible pipeline of investment in Adelaide with a string of hotels open or commence construction worth nearly $1.2 billion – including the Marriott GPO Hotel, Oval Hotel, Eos by SkyCity, Hotel Indigo, Sofitel Adelaide and more.

“We’ve also seen major events generate strong demand and record-breaking bookings for our around 10,500 hotel rooms available across Adelaide, events like Harvest Rock, WOMADelaide, the inaugural Gather Round and more recently, LIV Golf Adelaide.”