RAI’s Adrian Cummins elected to HOTREC
HOTREC ExCom promotes and defends the interests of the hospitality industry towards the EU institutions and works to enhance co-operation between the national hospitality associations.
He now represents Ireland at European level and commented, “It’s important that Ireland is represented on the HOTREC ExCom; 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”.
Appointed Chief Executive of the Restaurants Association of Ireland in 2009, Adrian has increased RAI membership significantly as well as establishing a National Restaurants Awards which attended by 700 last May. With a keen interest in politics and current affairs he’s played a dominant role in lobbying for the reduction of VAT in Ireland to nine per cent for food bills in restaurants and has recently applied for funding to establish a Professional Cookery Apprenticeship Scheme taking 220 long-term unemployed off the live register.
In his campaign for election, Adrian 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 mainland Europe, referring to the need to include food tourism in tourism marketing initiatives and emphasised that HOTREC needs to be inclusive of large and small nations and of all tourism sectors.
In the past Adrian has held the position of Chief Executive of Marketing English in Ireland and the Irish Hospitality Institute. He currently sits on various state boards including the Irish Tourist Industry Confederation, Food Safety Authority Catering Forum, Drinks Industry Group of Ireland, National Hygiene Partnership Committee, Irish Food Service Alliance, National Tourism Strategy Committee for The Gathering 2013 and the Irish Academy for Hospitality and Tourism. He’s also involved in coaching the Dublin Institute of Technology Hurling Team.
