Sharjah receives Best Exhibitor Award at Beijing International Tourism Expo 2008

The jury's final decision was based on the evaluation of the show's organizing committee, following a number of studies and assessments conducted by the OC in coordination with the Chinese Tourism Authority, judging the design of the stand and taking into account creativity, promotional and informative materials and activities on offer. The unique design of the Sharjah stand stood out prominently among the 800 at the exhibition, where participants represented more than 80 countries.

Representatives of the Sharjah Commerce and Tourism Development Authority received the trophy at the award presentation ceremony, which was attended by the Director General of the Chinese Tourism Authority, the General Organizer of the Exhibition as well as senior officials, other exhibitors and international media.

Commenting on the occasion, H.E. Mr. Mohamed Ali Al Noman, Director General of the SCTDA, said, "This award recognises the Authority's outstanding efforts to promote the emirate in a variety of local, regional and international domains. It is a mark of success for the emirate's new identity, which has performed superbly on the international level.

"This award marks a new milestone in our series of achievements and will serve as added motivation for us to continue our tireless efforts to maintain and boost the emirate's prominent spot on the world's tourism map. It is our consistent commitment to maintain this momentum, under the guidance of H.H. Dr Sheikh Sultan bin Mohammed Al Qasimi, Supreme Council Member and Ruler of Sharjah,"

he added.

He went on to say, "Last year, Sharjah attracted more than 10 thousand tourists from China. This was but our second participation at BITE and we are extremely optimistic about the openness of China's tourism and commercial markets and the opportunities that exist at an international event such as this to attract even more Chinese tourists to Sharjah, contributing to the ultimate realisation of the ambitious goals we have set for the next five years.

"This is also our second award this year, the first being the award for Best Arab World Exhibitor at ITB 2008 - the world's largest tourism event - in the first quarter of this year."

Al Noman said that the Authority expected a 10 percent growth in tourist influx from the Chinese market during this year, saying that the SCTDA's participations at major international exhibitions are playing a significant role in increasing tourist influx into the emirate, thanks to the Authority's efforts to highlight the tourist attractions in the emirate to international markets. "Asian tourists accounted for 21 percent of the total number of visitors to the emirate in 2007," he said.

In addition to representatives of the Sharjah Commerce & Tourism Development Authority, the Sharjah delegation to the Beijing International Tourism Expo 2008 included representatives from Qanat Al Qasba Development Authority, Radisson SAS Hotels & Resorts, Al Khalidiah Tourism and Tropic Tours.

The primary objectives of the SCTDA's presence at this travel and tourism event were to sustain the development of tourism in Sharjah by enhancing its position in the international tourism market and diversifying its sources of tourists, and to benefit from the huge potential of the Chinese market, which exports more than 20 million tourist a year, a figure that is expected to increase to 100 million by 2020.

As part of its outstanding efforts to achieve a significant impact in Beijing, in terms of both content and form, the SCTDA exhibited on an eye-catching stand, where the Authority distributed several publications to visitors in English and Chinese, providing them with updated information and news about the emirate.