QTA to apply global norms to exhibitions

The Qatar Tourism Authority (QTA) organised a workshop to discuss its involvement with UFI, the global association of the exhibition industry.During the workshop attended by UFI MEA members, UFI rules and regulations covering international procedures and classification of exhibitions under the MICE (meetings, incentives, conferencing and exhibition), were reviewed.The rules will now apply to exhibitions being held in QatarIssa al-Mohannadi, chairman, QTA, said: “This meeting confirmed that QTA is now an active member of UFI. It was significant for the QTA to ensure that we align our exhibitions as part of MICE to international standards in every way. This will benefit Qatar’s exhibition industry enormously and will enable QTA to regulate the selection and approval of events being held in Qatar.”He mentioned that QTA has already announced that individual exhibitions will need to meet the relevant criteria to be admitted.Other discussions during the workshop covered the close link between the exhibition industry and business tourism in Qatar, particularly the focus on MICE events that attract significant business to the country.“The workshop comes at a crucial stage for QTA as we develop our new strategy for the tourism sector involving stakeholders and partners throughout the country to show Qatar at its best. MICE is a core part of our strategy moving forward,” al-Mohannadi added. Ibrahim Alkhadi, regional manager, UFI, commented: “It is vital for us to have an in-depth understanding of the Qatar exhibition market with its ambitions, targets, concerns and challenges. It is UFI’s main mission to provide members with valuable industry knowledge, timely information and help them find the best co-operation and partner opportunities through the unique UFI professional network. We will always maintain contact with QTA as the official representative of the Qatar MICE sector.”UFI regional trends during 2006 – 2011 show that the Middle East is the second fastest growing region in the exhibition industry after Asia Pacific with a 16% growth rate, double that of Europe and South America, between 2006 and 2011.UFI represents some 616 global members and promotes and supports the exhibition industry worldwide through information, news gathering, education, research and networking.