QTA Opens Representative Offices in Turkey, US

Doha, July 24 (QNA) - Qatar Tourism Authority (QTA) has announced that it will open two new representative offices in Istanbul and New York in August. The offices will contribute to facilitate contacting with leading tourism and media partners in the two countries to promote the State of Qatar as a universal tourist destination. According to a press statement issued by QTA, the opening of the representative office in Turkey will boost tourism cooperation between the two countries, especially since the two countries have recently signed an agreement that allows Turkish visitors to enter Qatar without a visa. The statement said that the opening of the two offices was announced during QTA's Quarterly Framework Marketing Summit for the second quarter of 2016, attended by officials of its offices in France, Italy, UK, Germany, Saudi Arabia, Southeast Asia and Hong Kong, with its new counterparts and members of Qatar's tourism sector. During the summit, they discussed the results achieved in the first half of this year and the work plan for the second half. Rashed Al Qurese, Director of Marketing and Promotions at QTA said in his speech during the summit that the new economic reality emphasises the importance of developing tourism products in Qatar that attract tourists and prolong stay of business visitors, adding that QTA is working on several fronts to build sustainable tourism sector and to maintain the flow of visitors to Qatar. In addition to the expansion of tourism promotion campaigns abroad, QTA continues to implement festivals strategy in Qatar, which left a significant impact on tourism activity, he said, noting in this regard to the Qatar Summer Festival which will run through August to attract visitors, especially during off-peak periods for the hospitality and retail sectors. He also said that partnerships were signed with more than 50 hotels to offer special offers for residents of Qatar and visitors, adding the activities that will be organized in the commercial markets and as well as the cultural, musical and sporting events that will be held during the festival will revive the movement in different sites and shops. ( QTA Director of Marketing and Promotions Rashed Al Qurese said that the worldwide marketing of the State of Qatar requires close cooperation between the partners in the public and private sectors, and here hotels, establishments and other tourist services play a major role in selecting and providing tourism products promoted by the QTA on global level. Al Qurese added that the tourism marketing quarterly conferences also help the representative offices abroad to interact with their counterparts in Qatar, and know about the latest tourism developments in the state as well as to communicate with stakeholders in the Qatari private sector, managers of hotels and tourism service providers. During the Tourism Marketing Summit for the third quarter of 2016, the participants discussed Qatar's representation in the upcoming International Tourism Exhibitions, including "Seatrade" exhibition in Tenerife, TTG Rimini Expo in Italy, the World Travel Market in London, ITB Asia in Singapore and IBTM global in Barcelona. The process of promoting tourism is a national priority of the State of Qatar and a way to enhance the march of development and diversification of the economy. In this regard, QTA launched Qatar's national strategy for the tourism sector in 2014 which aimed at the diversification of products and tourism services in the country and enhance the contribution of the sector as a whole in the Qatari economy by 2030. The Authority is seeking through cooperation with relevant partners in the public and private sectors to achieve this mission through planning, organizing and promoting for a tourism sector based on sustainability and diversity. QTA is responsible for the promotion of the State of Qatar as a tourist destination around the world through the brand of the destination and through its participation in specialized exhibitions, as well as the development of a rich calendar of festivals and events. In order to strengthen its presence on the international level, the QTA representative offices in each of London, Paris, Berlin, Milan, Singapore and Riyadh support the promotional efforts of the Authority. Since the launch of Qatar's national strategy for the tourism sector, Qatar received more than 7 million visitors, and achieved an annual growth rate in visitors' number reached 11.5% from 2010 to 2015. The economic impact of the tourism sector in Qatar has become more pronounced in 2014 estimates. The total contribution of Qatar's GDP reached 4.1%. (QNA)