More than 20 business events professionals have completed the first part of a five-month programme that will see them certified by the Union of International Fairs (UFI), a leading global association of the exhibition industry.
The Event Management Degree (EMD) training programme comes as part of Qatar Tourism Authority’s (QTA) efforts to empower local exhibitions professionals and enhance Qatar’s business events competitiveness, and is being delivered in collaboration with Exhibition, Convention and Event Management Company, according to a statement.
Commenting on the training programme, Ahmed al-Obaidli, director of exhibitions at QTA, said: “Qatar has made great strides in building the state-of-the-art infrastructure needed to host large-scale events. This programme forms part of our efforts to give members of the sector the tools they need to attract and deliver global business events in Qatar.” 
The five-month programme was launched by UFI in 2007 with the aim of raising quality standards in the exhibitions industry, and has since been delivered 15 times at different locations in Asia, the Middle East and Europe. The training helps develop essential skills through topics such as project and risk management for exhibitions, sales management, exhibition marketing, strategic management and sustainability in the exhibition industry. 
Al-Obaidli added, “Programmes such as the UFI-EMD offer comprehensive means for linking all aspects of the business together. We are particularly proud to see participants join us from the region, reinforcing Qatar’s position as the region’s business events 
knowledge hub.”
Layal Thabit, exhibition department head at Qatar Chamber, noted that her participation in this training programme reflected Qatar Chamber’s keenness on empowering its people to excel at what they do. 
“Qatar Chamber holds numerous exhibitions locally, regionally and internationally, which makes this training programme highly relevant and key to ensuring we are kept abreast of international best practices. This training has significantly helped me in developing my approach towards organising and managing exhibitions, and demonstrates QTA’s commitment to developing the country’s business events sector.”
Ammar B Anabtawi, chief executive officer, Final Vision, added: “The programme is helping me enhance my sector expertise and exchange knowledge with my peers from the local market and abroad. The new techniques and methodologies I learn will undoubtedly be carried with me to my business and I look forward to sharing them with my team.”
QTA and stakeholders “have been stepping up efforts to establish a solid business events sub-sector equipped with up-to-date facilities and smart infrastructure, managed by the most efficient management systems and supported by the private sector’s active participation”, the statement noted. 
Qatar’s business events sector boasts of growing events management services, an exhibition capacity of 70,000sqm, including world-class venues such as Qatar National Convention Centre and Doha Exhibition and Convention Centre, an expanded transport network, as well as “exceptional accessibility” via Qatar Airways’ reach to 150 
destinations worldwide.
With more than 150 business events held in Qatar annually, the business events sub-sector accounts for a substantial number of Qatar’s visitors. To capitalise on this strength, Qatar’s National Tourism Sector Strategy seeks to triple the number of business events tourists by 2030, contributing at least half of the country’s revenue 
from tourism spending.