RAI Chief re-elected to European body

Restaurants Association of Ireland Chief Executive Adrian Cummins has been re-elected to the Executive Committee of HOTREC or Hospitality Europe, an umbrella group representing hotels, restaurants and cafés in Europe, for the third time in a row.

Adrian was voted in at a HOTREC conference which took place in Malta recently and he’ll hold his position on the Committee for a term of two years.

The HOTREC Executive Committee works to promote and defend the interests of the hospitality industry towards the EU institutions and to enhance co-operation between the national hospitality associations. Adrian will therefore continue to represent Ireland at European level.

“It’s important that Ireland is represented on the HOTREC EXCOM” said Adrian, “being a small island on the edge of Europe we need to have our voices heard and keep our tourism industry interests to the fore.

“Ireland has a lot of experience within the hospitality and tourism sector; we have a lot of experience we can bring to the table.”

Since his introduction to HOTREC EXCOM in 2012, he has established a Food Taskforce which he also chaired. This Taskforce was successful regarding the Food Allergens debate, the Olive Oil issue and the proposal regarding inspection fees within Europe.

In his HOTREC campaign, he promised to prioritise a proposal for an EU tourism initiative which would see an EU Commissioner for Tourism being put in place. He also outlined policies that will allow the hospitality sector to grow, both in Ireland and in mainland Europe. He referred to the need to include food tourism into tourism marketing initiatives. In his campaign, he emphasised that HOTREC needs to be inclusive of large and small nations and of all tourism sectors.

Chief Executive of the Restaurants Association of Ireland since 2009, Adrian has increased its membership by over 400% in the last seven years. With a keen interest in politics and current affairs, he played a dominant role in lobbying for the reduction of VAT for food bills in restaurants. He also sits on a steering group to help establish a Chef Apprenticeship programme in Ireland and has recently applied for funding to run Skillnets-approved training courses for the restaurant and hospitality sector.

In recent years, the hospitality industry has been one of the fastest-growing sectors in Europe in terms of employment.