The ongoing Summer Entertainment City 2018 (SEC) at Doha Exhibition and Convention Centre continues to offer thrilling indoor amusements to visitors. The entertainments will go on till August 31.
A visit to SEC reveals that the organisers of the 2018 city have added many new and exciting things for all people, including women and children. Things such as ‘Summer Shopping Souq,’ which hosts 140 stalls from Qatar and other countries, synthetic ice skating, amusement rides, world’s largest bouncy castle, (as the organisers claim), Qatar’s first indoor mini golf course, virtual reality equipment, a driving school for kids, a mini zoo with live exotic animals, and cultural performances by different communities.
Community recently caught up with Adil Ahmed, founder of QSports and Project Director. The company is the organiser of SEC along with Qatar Tourism Authority (QTA). He explained about different entertainment features and amusements offered at the summer city.
About SEC, he said, “This is our second year with the Summer Entertainment City. QTA gave a big push to the private sector by letting us handle the event. Previously, QTA has been organising the event.”
He added, “Last year was a big lesson that we learnt. About 70 to 80 percent of our equipment got stuck in Dubai due to the blockade. Then, we considered building our own capacity in Qatar. This year we have been doing it at our own. All the equipment installed here is operated and owned by QSports with all local expertise. Now, we do not have to rely on any outside parties. We have added many new attactions this year. SEC has boosted our confidence about holding bigger and larger leisure events. We are planning to organise more such events next year.”
Speaking about the attractions for women and children, Adil said, “The special thing for women is Special Summer Souq. It’s very important for us what the visitors want. We have surveyed over 4,000 people about what they want to see here. We have designed the whole area on the feedback received. We have special zones for kids such as driving school and zoo.”
He added, “We have staff that actually go around and pick the visitors randomly, asking about what they want. We have 21 percent of repeat visitors here. It shows that people like this place. As many as 50 percent of our visitors are Qatari. About 37 percent of our visitors are females and some 30 percent kids. The rest of our visitors and male adults. We use this data on daily basis to improve facilities.”
When asked about activities for different communities in Qatar, he said, “To engage different communities, we have engaged many embassies. We have spoken to over 45 embassies. So far, five embassies have conducted their cultural shows here. We have 12 other embassies that will be engaging with us. Last week, we had a show for Filipinos. It was simply amazing. Next performance is coming from South Koreans. We expect them to show their cultural dances and national heritage.”
In response to a question about any impact of the blockade on the event, Adil said, “In terms of the number of visitors, it has a marginal impact. Earlier, there used to be visitors from neighbouring countries as well. Otherwise, the local response so far has been great. It is compensated by local presence.”
Speaking about his experience in Qatar, he said, “I have been here for nine years. I have seen a sea change in how businesses work in Qatar. I think it is one of the most open countries in GCC. The opening of visas for 80 nationalities has helped a lot. It gives a favourable impression about Qatar being open for business. The procedures are simplified now. For example, a young Qatari man got his café opened in SEC after getting the licence in 30 minutes.”
About the enjoyment that the SEC brings, he said, “If you want to spend a good family time at a reasonable cost, this is the place to be. This is the largest indoor festival in Qatar right now. Practically, it has everything under one roof. Average time spent by a visitor at SEC is four hours.
He said that he founded QSports in 2011 as part of his passion for leisure and sports activities. It was founded primarily for community sports. Since then, he has been organising sports events at community and national levels.”
THRILLING: A live fire show performance at the Summer Entertainment City. Photos supplied
