Exhibition showcases products by companies in hospitality, food and beverage industries

AMMAN — HORECA Jordan 2015, the second international exhibition of the hospitality and food and beverage service industries, opened in the capital on Tuesday.

The exhibition is an important event to improve tourism products and familiarise owners of tourist facilities and restaurants with the latest updates in the industry, Jordan Restaurants Association (JRA) Technical Manager Mohammad Al Manha told The Jordan Times.

The word HORECA is an acronym made up of the two initial letters of the words hotel, restaurant and café.

Tourism Ministry Secretary General Issa Gammoh inaugurated the three-day exhibition at a ceremony attended by Jordan Tourism Board Director General Abed Al Razzaq Arabiyat, Jordan Hotels Association President Michael Nazzal, JRA representatives, ambassadors and business people.

Gammoh toured the exhibition, hosted at Zara Expo, where he met with representatives of companies, hotels and restaurants, and thanked the participants for their efforts.

"HORECA is very important to Jordan as it showcases products that contribute to tourism services and gathers potential investors as well as employers and customers," Gammoh told The Jordan Times.

He said some agreements were signed as part of the exhibition, in which around 110 local and international companies are participating, adding that holding the event for the second time is an indication of the organisers' interest in the Jordanian tourist product and a chance for visitors to observe investment opportunities in the Kingdom.

"The goal of participation is to showcase the products you have to customers and to other companies as well as get to know the products of rival companies," Kaylani Food Centre Marketing Manager Saleh Elayan said.

Mohannad Alqalqili, one of the visitors, said the exhibition is a venue where companies and organisations can meet.

"There are many companies that offer a variety of products, which is great and it seems like there are more people visiting this year than last year," he added.

Exhibitors from Jordan, Palestine, Lebanon, the UAE, Tunisia, Korea, Italy, Brazil and Turkey are taking part in
HORECA Jordan 2015, according to the organisers.

The event also features international cooking competitions, with the participation of more than 120 chefs from Jordanian hotels and restaurants, supervised by an international judging panel headed by the World Association of Chefs Societies.

Ewald Notter, a Swiss judge at one of the cooking competitions, said it was his first time in Jordan and that he liked how people are very friendly, as well as the passion of the participants at the competitions.

Organised by Lebanese company Hospitality Services S.A.R.L ExpoJordan, and Lawrence & Husseini Consult, the event also features bed-making, coffee-serving, and table setting competitions.

The exhibition, which is open from 3pm to 9pm, concludes on Wednesday.