QTA official says big events can attract more tourists

Large-format exhibitions and other events will help Qatar attract more visitors despite the perceivable slowdown in the global economy, according to a Qatar Tourism Authority (QTA) official.
QTA director of exhibitions Hamad al-Abdan said recent exhibitions staged in Qatar had attracted a good number of visitors, stressing that the hosting of expos such as the Doha Jewellery and Watches Exhibition would help the country attract more people in the coming days.
He was replying to a query from Gulf Times during the opening of the 13th DJWE at Doha Exhibition and Convention Centre (DJWE) yesterday.  Highlighting the scale of the exhibition, he said DJWE has on display jewels and watches worth more than QR5.6bn.
“We are hopeful that facilities like DECC will go a long way in drawing more business exhibitions to this country and more visitors will make use of the occasion to visit the country during such events,” said al-Abdan, adding that ambitious efforts were on to attract more business and tourist visitors to Qatar.
Speaking about DECC and its facilities, the QTA official said the new venue had gone down well with visitors and its proximity to many important city landmarks was an added advantage.
A number of participants have hailed the hosting of the exhibition at the newly-built DECC, which some of them have described as one of the most conveniently located exhibition venues in the world.
A participant from Italy said the biggest advantage of the facility was its proximity to several major hotels.
“We could walk down to our hotel before and after the exhibition every day,” he said, describing the exhibition centre as probably the most accessible location for expos.
Similar sentiments were echoed by other visitors as well.
One of them said he and his staff need not even catch taxis to travel between their hotel and the exhibition venue.
It has also been found that the West Bay shuttle bus service has come in handy for a number of guests as they are availing of the buses to travel to and from their hotels.