Abbreviation IHRA Legal status Non-profit company Type Trade association | Formation November 1947 Region served Global Founded November 1947 | |
Membership Respective national trade associations | ||
The International Hotel & Restaurant Association (IHRA) is an international trade association representing the interests of the hotel and restaurant industries.
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History
It was officially founded in November 1947 in London as the International Hotels Association. From 23 September 1949 it was registered by the French government and was headquartered in Paris, France from 1949 to 2007. It had been known as the International Hotels Alliance, which had initially formed in 1921. American hotel associations only began to join in 1960.
On 1 November 1997, it joined with international restaurant associations to become the IHRA.
As of January 2008, the corporate headquarters is located in Lausanne, Switzerland.
Structure
IH&RA members are national hotel and restaurant associations throughout the world, and international and national hotel and restaurant chains representing some 50 brands. Officially recognized by the United Nations, IH&RA monitors and lobbies international agencies on behalf of the industry, estimated to comprise 300,000 hotels and 8 million restaurants, employs 60 million people and contributes 950 billion USD annually to the global economy.