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Asif Iqbal
Doha
With more than 150 business conferences hosted every year, Qatar has positioned itself in the global map as a top destination for meetings, incentives, conferences, and exhibitions (MICE).
However, with increased competition from other countries in the region, Qatar must rely on both its public and private sectors to attract tourism and MICE-related activities to the country, industry experts have said.
Some of the key offerings in the MICE segment in the country are the 40,000 sqm Qatar National Convention Centre, the QR2.3 billion ($631 million) Doha Exhibition and Convention Centre in West Bay, the Sheraton Grand Doha Resort & Convention Hotel and the Ritz Carlton.
"Qatar's tourism sector is well-placed to boost its share in the competitive global market, given the quality of its infrastructure, solid leisure and sports segments, and state support," General Manager of Concorde Hotel Mashour Rifai told Qatar Tribune.
He said with its firm position as the richest country in the world in terms of per capita income, Qatar is already steaming ahead in its efforts to transform itself into a thriving and competitive economic-powerhouse and is acting as a bridge between the East and the West.
According to Rifai, Qatar is perfectly positioned to act as a key strategic base for businesses looking to expand in the region, or further afield but the key to all this is the partnership between public and private sectors.
The hotelier pointed out that Qatar is expanding its economy in a big way and reinvesting its wealth into a number of industries, and looks well prepared for the future.
"A diverse economy that is not restricted to any individual sector is key for the long-term prospects of any country, and the government is well aware of the need to ensure it has invested its wealth across a broad range of sectors," Rifai added.
An official of IPF Qatar, the trade fair and event organiser, said Qatar has all the resources to be a top MICE player. He said Qatar is spending a great deal of money in making the country an attractive destination for business travellers.
"An area of particular importance is that of turning the country into a place in which it is easy for the global business community to do business. As such, a great deal of money has been spent on making Qatar as welcoming and convenient as possible for business travelers," the IFP official said.
To cement Qatar's position as a top MICE destination, the Qatar Tourism Authority (QTA) too is playing its part and recently held a training for private sector stakeholders to shed light on the industry's latest trends and best practices in sustainability for business events.
Some of the sessions during the training were designed to give QTA's private sector partners the tools to create a sustainable business events industry for a sustainable economy.
In addition to this, QTA recently launched the Qatar Business Events, the first sub-brand of the Qatar Destination Brand, which was unveiled at the World Travel Market in London and Barcelona.
"The Qatar Destination Brand will showcase Qatar as a country leading in business events tourism. The brand is a natural outcome of a large number of events held and business tourists received by the country every year," QTA Director of Exhibitions Hamad al Abdan had said during the launch event.
Acknowledging Qatar's prowess as a MICE destination, Altan Baki a Turkish exhibitor who took part in the just concluded 'Expo Turkey by Qatar' said,"Qatar has one of the best convention and exhibition centres in the world and coupled with this the country has very good infrastructure and a world-class airport making it a destination of choice for exhibitors."
