Workshop boosts Qatar business events sector

A group of 25 Doha-based business events professionals recently attended an international exhibition development training programme hosted by the Qatar Tourism Authority (QTA), in partnership with UK-based MBB-Media Ltd.
The two-day programme is part of efforts to enhance the country’s business events competitiveness.
“This programme is one of many efforts being made to empower local exhibitions professionals with the tools they need to adapt and respond to a fast-changing environment,” QTA exhibitions director Ahmed al-Obaidli said.
“The sustainable growth of the tourism sector is a central theme of the Next Chapter of the National Tourism Sector Strategy 2030, and we are pleased to see the business events subsector’s key members engage with the opportunities provided in that space,” al-Obaidli added.
Business events in Qatar benefit from growing events management services, exhibition capacity of 70,000sq m – including world-class venues such as the Qatar National Convention Centre and the Doha Exhibition and Convention Centre, an expanded transport network, as well as exceptional accessibility thanks to the reach of Qatar Airways’ network of 150 destinations worldwide.
“Qatar has all the right ingredients it needs to become a leader in the exhibitions field. The QTA’s efforts to offer programmes such as this one are a good step towards helping the sector’s professionals put all these ingredients together to deliver world-class exhibitions,” MBB-Media founder and programme lecturer Matthias Tesi Baur said.
He added: “I believe the industry’s biggest challenge for the next five to 10 years will be adapting to offer seamless experiences that appeal to an increasingly digitally-savvy audience.
“That is certainly a niche area which Qatar can focus on and develop to be unique.”
The programme was designed to cover topics related to sustainable growth as well as explore means for taking a show from local to international.
Auditoire project director Germana Cruz, who has been a regular participant at the QTA’s industry workshops, said: “I find the QTA workshops for the industry particularly helpful in neatly piecing together the various aspects involved in the work we do.”
She added: “The market is changing, making it important to stay up to date, especially with integrating online capabilities and applications in our shows.”