Representatives of Qatar’s business events industry introduced their counterparts in the United Kingdom (UK) to opportunities in the country at a networking event hosted by Qatar Tourism Authority (QTA) in London.
Qatar Airways, Qatar National Convention Centre, Sheraton Doha and Qatar International Adventures presented Qatar’s business events facilities and tourism offerings to professional conference organisers and event planners in the UK, Qatar’s largest source market in Europe.
“Qatar’s deep-rooted ties with the UK are well-known, not only through investments but also with partnerships between our education and energy institutions,” said QTA exhibitions director Hamad al-Abdan.
Addressing attendees, he noted that the UK ranks as Qatar’s largest European visitor source market by a substantial margin, accounting for more than 30% of all visitors from the continent.
Al-Abdan added that QTA will be inviting 10 representatives of the UK’s Meetings, Incentives, Conventions and Exhibitions industry to Qatar to witness the country’s
potential first hand.
The networking event follows on the heels from the World Travel Market where Qatar stepped up its efforts to target UK trade members of the tourism industry as well as consumers.
The number of British tourists grew steadily over the past few years, reaching more than 135,000 in 2014 while the number of British tour operators featuring Qatar has increased from 17 in 2012 to 45 this year.
It is estimated that business tourists currently comprise the majority of visitors to the country, which has witnessed a substantial increase in activity in the business meeting and exhibition sector, averaging 150 events a year. QTA’s strategy is to triple the number of business tourists by 2030.