Qatar Tourism Authority (QTA) offices abroad, along with members of the sector in Qatar, gathered in Doha recently for their Quarterly Framework Marketing Summit for the second quarter of 2016.
QTA representative offices that include the GCC region, the UK, France, Germany, South-east Asia, and Italy presented their first quarter achievement and second quarter marketing plans.
During the first quarter, these overseas offices had organised six trips to Qatar for 36 representatives of international media, as well as 35 travel agents, to familiarise them with the destination.
In addition, the number of tour operators selling trips to Qatar increased to 192 with continuous independent travel agents registering for QTA’s online Tawash programme, which assists them in developing expertise on Qatar and its tourism offering.
March also saw the introduction of the Qatar destination brand in the German market during the Internationale Tourismus-B?rse Berlin, and this branding will continue during the forthcoming Arabian Travel Market in Dubai from April 25 to 28.
“These meetings are conducted quarterly to maximise and expose the impact of the nation’s marketing efforts and resources. We place great importance on promoting the key attractions that give Qatar its distinctive cultural edge. It is a question of synergy,” QTA’s chief Marketing and Promotion officer Rashed al-Qurese said.
“We continue to avoid fragmentation of Qatar’s message and ensure we create a strong and positive Qatar brand positioning that continues to resonate in our key overseas markets,” he added. “This message will gain momentum in the region during the forthcoming important tourism event Arabian Travel Market where Qatar will display a strong presence.”
Marketing Qatar internationally involves close collaboration between the public and private sectors, according to al-Qurese.
“Hotels and other tourist facilities and services form key factors in the selection of the tourism products that QTA promotes worldwide,” he noted.
The new format of individual Market Place stations during this Q2 Summit provided networking opportunities for all QTA Marketing personnel to meet private sector representatives face-to-face.
The Summit further afforded the QTA overseas office representatives with opportunities to interact with their counterparts in Qatar, as well as to familiarise themselves with the destination and its latest developments.