Qatar’s National Tourism Council (NTC) is exhibiting alongside nine partners at the IBTM World Barcelona this week, to showcase the country’s full range of hotels, DMC, event management companies, and state-of-the-art venues that make for an attractive business events destination in the region.
NTC held a networking session for selected international buyers and another one for Spanish buyers, to give them the opportunity to learn more about Qatar’s unique tourism products and services. In a bid to build more industry ties, NTC and partner delegates from Qatar also attended the match-making sessions with relevant industry representatives from across the world.
Ahmed Al Obaidli of NTC said that they continue to work with partners from public and private sectors under their new identity (they were formerly called Qatar Tourism Authority) to develop the business events sector, part of their strategy to develop the tourism sector. He said that IBTM World Barcelona is an important platform to enhance the end-to-end Qatar visitor experience.
Most Open Country in the Middle East
Qatar has taken numerous steps to ease visitor access to Qatar such as refining electronic visa systems, improving immigration processes at ports of entry, and introducing visa-free entry to citizens and nationals of more than 80 countries. As a result of these initiatives, the UNWTO recently ranked Qatar the 8th Most Open Country in the World and the Most Open Country in the Middle East.
The country’s openness – among other factors – helped Qatar win a number of bids to host major international events such as the Les Clefs d’Or (UICH) Congress in 2021, All Together Better Health (ATBH) 2020 International Conference, and the 2020 Regional Conference for International Society for the Prevention of Child Abuse and Neglect (ISPCAN), to name a few.
Qatar is a rapidly-growing hub for education, sport, research, healthcare and energy. Qatar Foundation’s Education City hosts branch campuses of eight international universities, and the cutting-edge Qatar Science and Technology Park offers eye-opening experiences for conference attendees of any background, inside and beyond the walls of its venues.
Business visitors also benefit from unique cultural experiences through the Museum of Islamic Art, Katara Cultural Village, the vibrant marketplace Souq Waqif and the recently launched Al Enna Project, which aims to enhance the overall desert and camping experience at Sealine Beach.
NTC partners who joined the IBTM World Barcelona exhibition include:
- Marriot Marquis City Center Doha Hotel
- Sharq Village and Spa
- Sheraton Grand Doha Resort and Convention Hotel
- The Ritz-Carlton Doha
- The St. Regis Doha
- Arabian Adventures
- First Travel and Tourism
- Qatar International Adventures
- Doha Exhibition and Convention Centre
To know more about the IBTM World Barcelona exhibition, visit ibtmworld.com. Check out this link for more information about NTC.