Regional lifestyle hotel brand Shaza Hotels will be the platinum sponsors of the inaugural Hotel and Tourism Investment and Development Conference.

The conference will be making its debut at Cityscape Dubai to be held from October 16 to 18.

It will provide a platform for leading experts within the hotel development industry to address some of the most important issues facing the global hotel investment industry today.

Billed as the premier international event for hotel and tourism experts, participants at the forum will explore emerging hospitality and tourism concepts, as well as provide a regional perspective of global hotel development trends and opportunities, said an official spokesman.

'Cityscape is the premier forum for building dialogue between real estate developers and partners in the Middle East, and we see the event's new hotel investment conference as a major opportunity to further that dialogue,' said CEO of Shaza Hotels Christopher Hartley.

The move highlights the premier hotel brand's support for increased knowledge-sharing within the industry, encouraging the development of ideas that benefit the region's overall development and investment prospects.

The product of a partnership between Kempinski, the world's oldest luxury hotel brand, and international financial firm Guidance Financial Group, Shaza Hotels will own and operate properties in gateway cities throughout the MENA region.

Shaza will act as owner-operator for its upcoming projects in Bahrain, Cairo, Jeddah and Marrakech, while the company's hotels in Doha, Dubai and Muscat will be operated under third party management contracts.Trade Arabia News Service