Rawad Sleem, Co-founder & General Manager of NeXTfairs for Exhibitions and Conferences, the organiser of the event.
Doha: The Qatar Travel Mart (QTM) 2021 will be held under the patronage of the Prime Minister and Minister of Interior H E Sheikh Khalid bin Khalifa bin Abdulaziz Al Thani from November 16-18 at the Doha Exhibition and Convention Center.
As many as 75 local and international companies covering various sectors including airlines, hotels and resorts, tour operators, destination management companies (DMCs), cruise lines, transportation and travel technology companies will participate at the event, said Rawad Sleem, Co-founder & General Manager of NeXTfairs for Exhibitions and Conferences, the organiser of the event.
The travel conference and expo will provide insights and new perspectives to the future of tourism, while showcasing the most sought-after travel destinations, real estate development projects and up-todate trends in luxury, business, medical, sports, MICE, Halal tourism, leisure and cultural tourism sectors. Qatar Tourism is the strategic partner of QTM, while Discover Qatar and Qatar Airways Holidays are the leisure partners.
Sleem added that the event will also attract wide international participation from countries like Italy, Cyprus, the Maldives, Azerbaijan, Rwanda, the Dominican Republic and other countries seeking to enhance their presence in the Qatari market. Retaj Hotels and Hospitality is a gold sponsor of QTM, along with Doha Bus, a Qatari company that provides programs and transportation services to the tourism sector through innovative ways to introduce the landmarks of Qatar to tourists from across the world.
Sleem explained that the wide participation of both local and international companies reflects the great confidence in the Qatari market. Moreover, it confirms the start of the recovery phase of tourism and hospitality sector from the repercussions of the coronavirus, especially with Qatar’s global tourism attractiveness now growing even higher than ever as the World Cup 2022 countdown draws closer.
Only fully vaccinated people will be allowed into the exhibition, whether staff members or visitors. All precautionary measures will also be applied to ensure the health and safety of the participants, exhibitors and visitors during the expo.
The measures include regular and consistent disinfection of the halls and the public and private places as well as ensuring thorough disinfection of areas that entail meeting and communicating with visitors, especially reception halls, and other common places. The disinfection process will be carried out by highly trained technicians in accordance with international safety standards wearing appropriate personal protective equipment and using the latest spray technology.
According to the latest data issued by the World Travel and Tourism Council, the contribution of the travel and tourism sector to Qatar’s GDP amounted to QR65.1bn, or 10.4 percent in 2019, just before the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic. The Council also indicated that the tourism industry and its related services provided over 262,300 jobs, representing 12.5 percent of the total workforce in Qatar. International visitor spending on travel and tourism in Qatar amounted to about QR47.8bn in 2019.
