I am delighted to welcome a number of new Members including the Bulgarian Hospitality Management Club and the Bulgarian Hotel & Restaurant Association. Our congratulations to both associations! With its accession to the EU, Bulgaria is obviously keen to play its full role at both the European and international levels. In January I had the honour of speaking at the General Assembly of the Hotel Association of Macedonia (HOTAM) in Skopje, and of addressing the Board of the Balkans Hotel Alliance in Ohrid, Macedonia. The Balkans are booming – and we hope that the other Members of this Alliance – Bosnia Herzegovina, Macedonia, Montenegro & Serbia will follow the Bulgarian lead and soon be part of the IH&RA family.

Looking to another dynamic world region, we are in close contact with our colleagues at the Malaysian Association of Hotels to spearhead the formation of an ASEAN group within IH&RA. After accepting their invitation to speak at their Hotel Classification Conference In Kuala Lumpur in early December, we will also be assisting them with the preparation of their major hotel conference in 2007 – the 50th Anniversary of Malaysian Independence.

For an update on our Advocacy work at the international level, read the roundup of our meetings with the heads of international agencies we called upon this month in Paris, Madrid and Geneva. Your comments and input are always welcome!