DIRK ELZINGA CHAIRS NEW FEDHASA CAPE BOARD

The Western Cape and Northern Cape hospitality and tourism industry gains the sage council of Dirk Elzinga, the outgoing Managing Director of the Cape Town International Convention Centre (CTICC), as he assumes his position as the Chairperson of the 2010 / 2011 Federated Hospitality Association of Southern Africa Cape (FEDHASA Cape) Board. Elzinga has agreed to serve as Chairperson for two years.

Voted in at the Tuesday 18 May 6th Annual General Meeting at the Newlands-based Vineyard Hotel, were

• Chairperson - Dirk Elzinga (CTICC)
• Chairperson: Hotels segment - Roy Davies (Vineyard Hotel & Spa)
• Alternate: Hotels segment - Friedrich Schaefer (Westin Grand / Arabella)
• Chairperson: Smaller Accommodation segment - Carole Armstrong-Hooper
• Alternate: Smaller Accommodation segment - Susanne Faussner-Ringer
• Chairperson: Restaurant & Catering segment - Rey Franco (Pepper Club Luxury Hotel & Spa)
• Alternate: Restaurant & Catering segment - Richard Key (Ocean Basket - N1 City)
• Chairperson: Allied segment - Michelè de Wit (Horwath HTL)
• Alternate: Allied segment - Ally Strachan (Ciro Beverage Solutions)
• Chairperson: Youth segment - Michael Oosthuizen (Buca Chef)

Says Elzinga: "I'm excited to be able to lend my expertise and knowledge to strengthen and grow the local hospitality and tourism industry."

Elzinga highlights the urgent need for relevant industry bodies to work together to promote the region.

"For the past few years the hospitality and tourism industry has focused its efforts on 2010 and the 2010 FIFA World Cup^TM. As a result, we have seen growth in the accommodation sector of over 30%. The challenge for the industry going forward post- 2010 is to maintain and enhance tourism growth," he notes.

Elzinga adds that it is essential that entities such as FEDHASA, South African Tourism, Cape Town Routes Unlimited and Cape Town Tourism work towards the same goal and pool their resources and synergies.

Other AGM highlights include the presence of guest speaker Peter Cronje, Director of Communications for the City of Cape Town and the City's Spokesperson for 2010 FIFA World Cup^TM. Cronje spoke on the topic "Finer details for Cape Town leading up to the 2010 FIFA World Cup^TM and then Looking Beyond 2010."