QTA taking part in hotel investment conference

The Qatar Tourism Authority (QTA) is taking part in the Arabian Hotel Investment Conference 2014, being held at the Madinat Jumeirah in Dubai today and tomorrow.QTA chairman Issa bin Mohammed al-Mohannadi will speak at key panel discussions on the ‘Vision for GCC and Beyond’. Other speakers on the panel include Fahd al-Rasheed, chief executive officer and managing director of King Abdullah Economic City; Amr Abdel Ghaffar, UNWTO regional director for the Middle East; and Amine Moukarzel, president of Golden Tulip Hotels in the Mena region, among others. In this session, to be moderated by Anita Mendiratta, founder and managing director of CACHET Consulting, the participants will discuss the GCC vision for the hotel industry; the GCC governments’ plans for sustainable growth, demand generators, and tourism infrastructure; and how public private partnerships are facilitating investment into this sector.Al- Mohannadi said: “As part of its efforts to create appropriate investment opportunities for Qatar and inform the world of Qatar’s vision based on Qatar National Tourism Sector Strategy 2030, QTA makes sure to extend its presence at all major tourism conferences and events in the region.” “QTA works to develop all human and economic aspects of tourism. Based on its strategic plans, it creates partnerships with the private sector and with all tourism stakeholders to implement laws and regulations that would ensure the development of this sector and the adoption of the best practices in the industry,” added al-Mohannadi.During the two-day event, organised by Bench Events and MEED under the theme “a decade of defining the hotel investment landscape,” senior hotel investors, developers, operators, and advisers from across the region will discuss the growth of the hospitality and tourism sectors in the Middle East and North Africa and exchange views and ideas on the most important issues of concern to the hotel sector, including branded residences and offerings by mid-size hotels and hotel apartments. Qatar plans to invest up to $20bn in the tourism sector in this decade and spend $44bn on the tourism infrastructure to improve tourism offerings. Qatar National Tourism Sector Strategy 2030 aims to increase number of visitors to Qatar from 1.2mn tourists in 2012 to 7mn by 2030, with tourist spending expected to increase from $1.4bn in 2012 to $10.7bn in 2030.According to recently released QTA figures, the tourism industry in Qatar continued to grow in 2013, benefitting from new investment and promotion.