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Expo Congress Hotel officially opens

The four-star Expo Congress Hotel by the entrance to Hungexpo, the latest member of the Mellow Mood Group's ??Congress? brand, officially opened on Thursday 5 November.

The celebrations were led by Economy and Development Minister István Varga, who spoke of the stimulating effect of tourism on the economy and added that, despite the crisis, further development is necessary to take advantage of the opportunities offered by the sector.

The opening of the Expo Congress Hotel serves that goal and is an excellent sign of the fact that Hungarian continues to be an attractive market to foreign investors, he said.

Jordan??s Consul to Budapest Zaid Naffa praised Jordanian-Hungarian diplomatic relations. The hotel on the expo site is a Jordanian investment and proves that investors from the Western Asian country are seeking opportunities on the Hungarian market more and more intensively, he said.

Tourism state secretary Miklós Kovács expressed satisfaction that the Expo Congress Hotel offers services that satisfy the needs of modern business travellers and will therefore play an important role in domestic conference tourism.

District X mayor Lajos Verbai was pleased to note that the service sector is becoming increasingly present in the district, which in the past was largely known for its industry. The Mellow Mood Group's investment also means the development of K?bánya, he said.

Many people believe that K?bánya could be one of the fastest developing areas in Budapest in the decades to come, and one element of that is the now refurbished Expo Congress Hotel, he said.

János Erdei, the upcoming president of the Hungarian Hotel Association, highlighted the achievements of the hotel in his speech: ??Few hotels can already say at their time of opening that there is considerable interest in what it offers.

One reason for that is the excellent choice of location, since the immediately adjacent Hungexpo Fair Centre is an important venue for international conferences and events,? he said.

That sentiment was reinforced by Gábor Ganczer, CEO of Hungexpo, who added that the company is seeking a strategic partnership with the four-star hotel, since the two companies share the same aim: to create a high-quality fair centre with the requisite accommodation capacity.

Managing directors of MMG Sameer Hamdan and Zuhair Awad asserted that the investment activities of the company group will not lose momentum.

The group's plans for next year include the opening of the four-star Alta Moda in March and the four-star La Prima Fashion Hotel in September. The group will extend its hotel range with its first five-star hotel, the Buddha Bar Hotel Klotild Palace next autumn, and at the end of next year its first foreign member, the Cosmo Fashion Hotel Vienna will enter the market. In addition to its own developments and operations, the group is also taking on development consultancy and full operation of hotels outside the group.

The company's managing directors closed their speeches by giving particular thanks to all the group members for their work thus far, as well as the successes of the Expo Congress Hotel that have already been achieved.

More than 250 people attended the celebration. The invitees included distinguished representatives of Hungarian political life; ambassadors and mission leaders, heads of professional chambers, business partners and travel agencies important to the hotel, tourism industry delegates, and the members of the press. Following the cutting of the ribbon, guests had to chance to explore the hotel and enjoy a buffet dinner, live music, cocktail bar, and tombola, into the early hours.

www.expohotelbudapest.com