Greg Bows, Managing Director of African Impact, has been chosen winner of the IHIF 2015 Young Leader Award.
The award, established in 2009 by the International Hotel Investment Forum (IHIF) and the International Society of Hospitality Consultants (ISHC), is designed to recognise and celebrate the excellence of young emerging leaders in the hospitality industry- and Greg definitely fits the bill.
Greg joined African Impact at the age of 18 as one of the founding members. Today, his role ranges from setting the company vision to running daily operations whilst continuously ensuring that African Impact attracts people from across the world to experience volunteer travel. On receiving the news that he had been chosen as the winner of this award, Greg said: “”Winning this award has left me both humbled and thrilled. Aside from the personal honour, this award is an important recognition of the volunteer travel industry. In building African Impact over the last decade and helping shape responsible tourism through this, I am confident in the power that volunteer travel can have in generating positive change globally. To be acknowledged by an industry forum as influential as the IHIF is hugely gratifying and very exciting”.
The award will be presented during a morning plenary session on Tuesday 3rd March at the InterContinental Berlin, Germany. Tess Pearson, Event Director, Questex Media Group, hosts of IHIF, commented: “The IHIF Young Leader Award is just one aspect which sets this event apart from others. We take immense pride in investing time and energy, along with ISHC, to organise this award which recognises the considerable contribution these young leaders are making to our industry. Greg was an exceptional candidate, responsible for raising the profile of volunteer tourism – an emerging area of the sector, and we are thrilled to be able to name him as the winner of the IHIF Young Leader Award 2015”.
The many reasons why Greg was chosen as the winner of this award is well articulated the co-founder of African Impact, Andrew Connolly, as he said: “Using Greg’s passion for providing amazing experiences to tourists in the hospitality world and making tourism a real force for social change, African Impact has been a true success. Greg’s commitment and effort should be rewarded, which is why I nominated him for this award”.
IHIF has chosen their winner very well this year, and it is sure that the recognition of this award will mean great things for Greg, African Impact, and the Volunteer Tourism industry as a whole. Congratulations to Greg Bows and African Impact for this incredible accomplishment.
About African Impact: African Impact is the largest volunteering organisation in Africa employing over 170 people between Cape Town and Nairobi. The South Africa based group have currently placed over 12,500 volunteers across 94 projects in Africa. Greg, a UK national, joined the organisation at the age of 18 following a period of travel around Africa. His role ranges from setting the company vision to running daily operations whilst continuously ensuring that African Impact attracts people from across the world to experience volunteer travel.
About the IHIF: The International Hotel Investment Forum (IHIF), produced by Questex LLC in partnership with Bench Events, is the premier hotel investment conference in the world, attracting the most prominent international hotel owners, investors, financiers, management companies, tourism and government officials and advisers. Held in Berlin every March, the three-day event is attended by nearly 2,000 people from over 70 countries. Tactical education and networking functions deliver a powerful return on investment, valuable connections and opportunities for business expansion. Participants gain knowledge of industry trends, available financing and prospective growth markets from experts in the hotel indu stry. Other events within the IHIF series include: North America Hotel Investment Conference (NATHIC), Asia Pacific Hotel Investment Conference (APHIC), Russia & CIS Hotel Investment Conference (RHIC) and Mediterranean Resort & Hotel Real Estate Forum (MR&H). For more information, visit www.ihif.com.
Further information about the 18th IHIF which takes place from 2-4th March at the Hotel InterContinental Berlin, Germany can be found at www.berlinconference.com
