Qatar becoming popular place for events and meetings: survey

Qatar is becoming a popular destination for meetings organisers in the Middle East, says a Middle East Meetings Industry research report 2009.
The report, presented at the Gulf Incentive, Business Travel and Meetings Exhibition (GIBTM), the largest meetings trade show in the Middle East concluding today in Abu Dhabi, states that Qatar is being recognised as an emerging quality destination for meetings and events, with a promising future, by peers, buyers and counterparts.
Twelve per cent of buyers questioned in the survey declared - having organised an event in Qatar in 2008, which ranks the country as the 7th favourite destination among the Arab states - that buyers will increase their use of Qatar as a meetings destination by 10.5 % in the next 12 months.
When coming to ratings of the experience at the destinations, Qatar moves to the 6th position, with more than 55% of buyers rating Qatar as a very good destination for services, quality and the range of cultural activities, according to the report.
Participating in the GIBTM was the Qatar Tourism and Exhibitions Authority, which received record numbers of event organisers and buyers visiting the stand to find out more about Qatar as a business and upscale leisure destination and investigate new commercial partnerships designed to bring more visitors to Qatar.
Among notable guests to the QTEA stand was the chairman of Abu Dhabi Authority for Culture and Heritage and Tourism Development and Investment Company Sheikh Sultan bin Tahnoon al-Nahyan.
QTEA’s head of Promotion and Organising Exhibitions Abroad, Soha Moussa, said: “We are delighted of the success we met during the first two days of the exhibition. GIBTM is a show of quality, fitting perfectly our strategy of attracting meetings, incentives, conferences and exhibitions buyers. There’s an increasing positive echo about Qatar as a surging destination from the Middle East, as well as from Europe and from Asia.”
Staged annually in Abu Dhabi, GIBTM is a three-day business to business event presenting a diverse range of destinations, products and services from around 250 organisations from the region and around the world. The event brings together meetings and incentives professionals from the Gulf and Middle East region as well as from around the world.
QTEA will also participate in other international exhibitions, such as Arabian Travel Market in Dubai and IMEX, the worldwide exhibition for incentive travel meetings, to be held in Frankfurt.

Original Article from: Gulf Times