Sharjah participates in International Tourism Bourse Berlin for the 13th time

Sharjah's participation comes as a result of its successful participation last year, where it was crowned as the Best Middle Eastern Exhibitor based on an evaluation by the College of Business at the University of Cologne, Germany. Sharjah's stand attracted huge attendance from various international tourism authorities participating in the event, one of the biggest annual international tourism conferences, which has resulted in an increased flow of German tourists to the emirate over the past year.

Spearheaded by Sheikh Sultan bin Ahmed Al Qassimi, SCTDA Chairman, the delegation representing Sharjah at the event will include members from 14 establishments from both the government and private sectors, including representatives from the SCTDA, Al Qasba, Sharjah Museum Department, Sharjah International Airport Authority, Sharjah National Hotels (Marbella Resort, Holiday International Hotel, Oceanic Resort), Radisson Blu Hotel and Resort, Sharjah Grand Hotel, Al Loulou'a Beach Resort, Coral Beach Resort, Golden Tulip Hotel, Orient Tours and Ilaf Tours.

The SCTDA's participation in the exhibition is in line with Sharjah's strategies to promote tourism around the world, to put Sharjah in the lead in terms of global tourism, and to promote the tourism sector in the emirate, which attracts more tourists every year due to its distinguished tourism aspects.

"There's no doubt that Sharjah's participation at the ITB is in line with our convictions as promotional strategy setters and developers of new tourism tools, as the concept of promotion is interpreted as one of the main aspects in the marketing of tourism destinations. In addition, the ITB exhibition sets the stage for discussing and exchanging the latest trends and technologies in tourism, opening up numerous opportunities for commercial trade and tourism investments between participating countries. So, we have ensured that this year Sharjah is represented by establishments from both the government and private sectors from the emirate in order to draw the full picture of the tourism industry and investments in the emirate, enclosed within an integral economic promotion system,"

said Al Qassimi.

"International tourism exhibitions provide the perfect setting to bring out the Sharjah tourism product and to get exposure amongst extreme worldwide competition. Sharjah's suite at the exhibition is a great stage to promote the 'family tourism' aspect of Sharjah, which isn't that well known on the international tourism scene. Furthermore, the cultural, historical, humane and educational dimensions of Sharjah adds a distinctive attraction to the emirate as Sharjah promotes its tourism packages according to its distinctiveness and high international status," he added.

Al Qassimi commented on the influence of the SCTDA's participation at ITB Berlin on Sharjah's tourism sector, saying that "The number of European tourists, particularly Germans, has increased significantly following our participation in ITB Berlin last year. Undoubtedly, the increased flow of German tourists to Sharjah reflects the importance of taking part in a big event such as ITB to promote Sharjah's outstanding tourism aspects."

As in previous years, the SCTDA's Stand is beautifully designed to reflect the emirate's tourism, cultural and historical identity over an area of 303 sq. meters, with accurate publications in both English and German about Sharjah's tourism aspects to be distributed among ITB visitors. A major part of the stand will be specified to present and promote Sharjah's cultural features, highlighting various cultural activities such as Emirati folklore shows, henna drawing and genuine Arab hospitality.

The International Tourism Bourse is one the biggest exhibitions concerned with the tourism industry, gathering a host of tourism experts from all over the world and accommodating more than 10 000 participants each year. This year's ITB edition will stretch across an area of 160,000 sq. meters, with 12 000 participants from around the world.