Qatar, a rising destination hailed in Middle East

Qatar Tourism & Exhibitions Authority is participating in Gulf Incentive, Business Travel and Meetings Exhibition (GIBTM), the largest meetings trade show in the Middle East. The event is in Abu Dhabi, and will last until April 2nd.

According to the Middle East Meetings Industry research report 2009 presented during GIBTM, Qatar is becoming a popular destination for meetings organizers in the Middle East.

12% of buyers questioned in this survey declared having organized an event in Qatar in 2008, which ranks Qatar as the 7th favorite destination among the Arab states.

As per this survey, buyers will increase their use of Qatar as a meetings destination by 10.5% in the next twelve months.

When coming to ratings of the experience at the destinations, Qatar moves to the 6th position, with over 55% of buyers rating Qatar as a very good destination for services, quality and the range of cultural activities.

This trend was met with a great deal of interest from record numbers of events organizers 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.

HE Sheikh Sultan bin Tahnoon Al Nahyan, Chairman of Abu Dhabi Authority for Culture and Heritage (ADACH) and Tourism Development & Investment Company (TDIC), paid a visit to Qatar Tourism and Exhibitions Authority's stand and enquired about Qatar new tourism developments.

Mrs Soha Moussa, Head of Promotion and Organizing Exhibitions Abroad of Qatar Tourism and Exhibitions Authority commented, "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, the Gulf Incentive, Business Travel and Meetings Exhibition (GIBTM) is a three day business to business event presenting a diverse range of destinations, products and services from 250 organizations from the region and around the world.

The event brings meetings and incentives professionals from the Gulf and Middle East region and around the world together with venues, hotels, destinations and suppliers.

Qatar Tourism and Exhibitions Authority will continue the promotion of Qatar to other international exhibitions, such as Arabian Travel Market (ATM) in Dubai and IMEX, the Worldwide exhibition for incentive travel meetings, to be held in Frankfurt.