| The Nicon Hilton in Abuja has been undergoing a $40 million (£22 million) upgrade. |
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igeria has emerged as one of Africa’s most important centres for international conferences and business tourism. Abuja boasts an international conference centre and regularly hosts high-profile meetings of leaders of the Commonwealth, the Economic Community of West African States (Ecowas), the African Union and Nepad, while Lagos and Port-Harcourt are regularly used as venues for meetings, seminars and events.
Andre Herrenschmidt, General Manager of the capital’s Nicon Hilton, believes Abuja is an ideal international conference destination and that if it had more hotels it would attract even more business. “The more hotels Abuja has, the more ability it will have to attract conferences and the more successful the city will be,” he says.
The Nicon Hilton Hotel
hosts numerous premier corporate and government events, and is the choice
of accommodation for many of the world’s visiting business and
political leaders, including George Bush in 2003.
A five-star, 670-room hotel, located in landscaped gardens in Abuja’s
central business area, the Nicon Hilton has developed an image of superiority
in terms of comfort, facilities and services, and has the unusual distinction
of boasting forty presidential suites in which to accommodate its most
distinguished guests.
“It is probably the only hotel in the world that regularly has more than 40 heads of state staying at the same time,” says Andre Herrenschmidt, who was appointed General Manager in February. “The last time was for the AU summit when we had 40 heads of state and Kofi Annan.
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“Key decision makers from all over the world come to Abuja because they know that they can network here and meet the entourage of the heads of state at our hotel,” he adds. “This is why I believe there is a great potential here because you get such high-profile meetings.”
Built in 1987, the hotel has from the beginning been 100 per cent owned by the Nigerian government through its insurance company Nicon Insurance Corporation. Now, along with its parent company, it is undergoing privatisation and the search for a core investor.
Nicon Hilton recently embarked on a complete refurbishment at a cost of $40 million (£22 million). Every aspect of the hotel has been upgraded in a bid to gain a bigger share of the corporate tourism market. The hotel’s congress hall has been given state-of-the-art facilities to raise it to world-class standard.
“The fact that we are doing this shows the confidence we have in the future. The aim is to position ourselves as the leading hotel in West Africa,” says Mr Herrenschmidt.
Website: www.hilton.com
Tel: +44 20 76296213, Fax: +44 20 74953707 - [email protected]