Face to face  RSS - Face to face

Ahmed Abdullah Al Nuaimi, Chairman of Qatar Tourism Authority

“Raise the awareness of the destination and its MICE potential”

After London and before Milan, the Qatar Tourism Authority stopped in Paris for its European Roadshow. Held at the George V Hotel on the 3^rd of March, the event brought together more than 15 Qatari MICE partners including 5-star hotels, DMCs, airlines, and Travel Management Companies and presented the destination to the French market. A great occasion for BWMN to meet the passionate Chairman of the Qatar Tourism Authority.

 BWMN: Qatar’s current slogan is “As independent as you are”. What does is suggest?
Ahmed Abdullah Al Nuaimi: We want to convey a very positive image of our country. Qatar subtly mixes tradition with innovative and independent spirit, which is part of our identity. As an evolving tourism destination, we aim to show visitors that they can live a secured, relaxed and enjoyable event in Qatar. We are proud of our cultural and historical heritage as well as our capacity to develop advanced technologies and increase our economy.

 BWMN: What does the MICE industry represent for your destination?
Ahmed Abdullah Al Nuaimi: In 2009, Qatar welcomed 900,000 visitors among which 90% came for business. We organised 35 exhibitions and expect to hold another 200 this year. Major investments are at stake to increase business tourism and make Qatar a top-class MICE landing place. This goes with the construction of various conference centres to reach 95,000 sqm of meeting space by 2012. The hotel industry will also logically follow this movement with the opening of 30,000 new hotel rooms by three years (Renaissance, Shangri-La, Hilton…).

 BWMN: According to you, what are the best assets of Qatar for the meeting industry?
Ahmed Abdullah Al Nuaimi: We would like to change the idea usually embedded in people’s minds that there is nothing to do in Qatar. The average stay currently is 1.5 days but we wish our visitors to stay and mix business with pleasure in a safe environment and at a reasonable cost. Apart from its developing meetings infrastructures, Qatar combines numerous incentive activities: cultural visits, golf, desert cruising, safari without forgetting an unrivalled nightlife. In addition to this, The Pearl island – named like this because Qatar used to be one of the major pearl traders of Asia – should be completed soon: an artificial island that will boast residential, educational and entertainment areas. The country is also a science hub in which training plays an important role. For instance, the Qatar MICE Development Institute offers a course in event management. Through events like this European roadshow, our objective is to raise the awareness of the destination and its MICE potential and show meeting planners that all the Qatari actors work together in promoting our country.

www.qatartourism.gov.qa