Travel industry to see ‘huge boom in Qatar and region’

By Joseph Varghese/Staff ReporterThe travel industry in Qatar in particular and the region in general will witness a big boom in the coming years , said an official of Amadeus, a global leader in travel technology services. Speaking to Gulf Times, Wafiq J al-Wahidi, general manager Amadeus Qatar said that the number of tourists to the Middle East will reach 136mn by 2020. He also said that Middle East carriers have placed orders for 106 of the 234 Airbus 380 that have been ordered recently. Al-Wahidi said that Qatar’s market looks very robust in the next decades with many developments.   “The new airport would provide a big boost. Moreover with the expansion of Qatar Airways there will be increasing opportunities for all the stakeholders in the industry.”In the Mena region, $4tn in travel and tourism industry projects have  already been announced in the  region. “$7bn was invested in 2010-2013 in hotel projects in the region. $2bn people are 2.5 hours from the Middle East by air. The number of tourists to MENA was around 54mn in 2008 which is projected to touch 136mn by 2020.”  Highlighting  the great opportunities in the travel industry al-Wahidi  observed that agencies have to put in significant efforts and make use of effective technology and cost reduction policies to meet challenges. He said: “The travel industry has become so competitive that agencies have to make use of advanced automated technologies to make sure that everything is error free. Moreover they have to diversify their portfolios to various other fields such as car rental, holidays, and many more.” He added that effective technology was essential to increase productivity.  Al- Wahidi said that Amadeus trained around 320 travel agents in Qatar this year in front office management He added that the firm planned to train at least 500 travel agents  by the end of this year. He said “We have around 300 different products  for front office, mid office and back office. Every year millions are spent in R & D by the company.”  He said that Amadeus has invested €2.4 bn in R& D since 2004.“Amadeus invested  €344.4 mn in research and development in 2011while it grew to €414.1 mn  in 2012. This is an increase of 20.2  %. “Amadeus is the travel enabler of the industry. “We have  around 80% of the market share in Qatar. and 38.6 % of the global market. Amadeus helps in performing  1.6 bn  transactions per day and 3.7mn net bookings daily.” The firm has 11000 employees in 195 countries.The travel industry in Qatar recorded 13% growth in the first quarter of 2013 compared to 2012, al-Wahidi said.  He said that there was a significant growth in the number of people travelling from Qatar to other destinations. “The first quarter results show that the travel industry is bound to grow stronger. It has already recorded a growth of 13% which is exceptionally good. With the travel season set to start growth might reach higher in the next quarters.”  He said most tourists from Qatar preferred Europe and South East Aisa “For people from Qatar Europe is their first travel destination. The second preference goes to Thailand, Malaysia and the UAE. With its possibilities of medical tourism, Thailand has great potential. Similarly many East European countries also offer  facilities for medical tourism.” Al- Wahidi also stated that for people from Qatar the UAE stands as the most preferred tourist destination in the  MENA region. “Large numbers of people from Qatar frequent Dubai. Similarly  many people go to Meca for pilgrimage.”  An emerging destination is Turkey.   “Turkey is a clear favourite destination for many. Turkey has successfully lured tourists from Qatar and the region and has become a hotspot.”