Tribune News Network
Doha
NeXTfairs for Exhibitions Conferences announced that the three-day Qatar Travel Mart (QTM) Conference 2021 slated to begin on November 16 at the Doha Exhibition and Convention Center has attracted more than 75 local and international companies covering various sectors such as airlines, hotels and resorts, tour operators, DMCs, cruise lines, transportation and travel technology companies.
To be held under the patronage of Prime Minister and Minister of Interior HE Sheikh Khalid bin Khalifa bin Abdulaziz Al Thani, the event will provide insights and new perspectives to the future of tourism, while also offering the most sought-after travel destinations, real estate development projects and up-to-date luxury, business, medical, sports, MICE, halal tourism, leisure and cultural tourism trends.
NeXTfairs for Exhibitions and Conferences Co-founder and General Manager Rawad Sleem said that Qatar Tourism is the strategic partner of QTM, while Discover Qatar and Qatar Airways Holidays are the leisure partners.
He said that the event will attract wide international participation including Italy, Cyprus, the Maldives, Azerbaijan, Rwanda, the Dominican Republic and other countries that seek to enhance their presence in the Qatari market.
Sleem indicated that Retaj Hotels and Hospitality, which is one of the most prominent companies in Qatar, is a gold sponsor of QTM, along with Doha Bus, a Qatari company that provides programmes and transportation services to tourism in a modern way to introduce the landmarks of Qatar, adding a fun atmosphere to tourists from all over the world.
Sleem explained that the wide participation of both local and international companies reflects the great confidence in the Qatari market. Moreover, it confirms the start of the recovery phase of tourism and hospitality from the repercussions of coronavirus, especially that Qatar’s global tourism attractiveness is now higher than ever as the World Cup 2022 countdown draws closer.
Sleem stressed that only fully vaccinated people will be allowed into the exhibition whether from the staff members or the visitors. Furthermore, all the precautionary measures will be applied to ensure the health and safety of the participants, exhibitors and visitors during the exhibition.
Sleem noted that the latest data issued by the World Travel and Tourism Council indicated that the contribution of the travel and tourism sector to Qatar’s GDP amounted to QR63.6 billion at an estimated rate of 9.1 percent in 2019, just before the outbreak of the Corona pandemic.
Moreover, the council indicates that the tourism industry and its related services provide about 250 thousand jobs, representing 11.8 percent of the total workforce in Qatar. The international visitor spending on travel and tourism in Qatar amounted to about QR48.4 billion in 2019.
Sleem stressed that tourism is a priority sector fundamental to economic diversification that has been set as a key objective in the Qatar National Vision 2030.
The sector has witnessed great development in terms of regulations and legislation that has promoted Qatar’s openness in tourism giving the local market the opportunity to attract the most prominent hotel brands in the world. Furthermore, Qatar tops the list of investment destinations in terms of returns on tourism and hotel investments in the Middle East.