‘Tourism in Tomorrow’s World Conference’
on 23 -24 February 2014 at Renaissance Doha City Centre Hotel, Doha, Qatar

The first Tourism Conference of its kind in Qatar will set the tone and image of an annual Tourism and Travel Conference as a dynamic forum that covers every sector of tourism & hospitality, addressing relevant current topical issues and new industry developments and trends in the GCC and factors that affect tourism in the region.

The clear purpose of this conference would be to underline the importance of tourism for Qatar and the region, focus on Qatar’s tourism growth and showcase its culture and heritage. Qatar Tourism Authority predicts there will be up to 127,000 hospitality jobs by 2030 in Qatar. On a global scale tourism contributes 9% of the world’s GDP and provides 260 million jobs, with one in 11 jobs being tourism related.

The two day Conference would feature well known international speakers – UNWTO General Secretary General, Dr Taleb Rifai Qatar Tourism Authority Chairman, H.E Issa Al-Mohannadi, and top international tourism academics and futurists on what the future holds for hospitality in the region.

The Conference would bring together and highlight all aspects of tourism that are reflected in Qatar – such as sun & beach ‘family’ tourism, MICE (business ) tourism, cultural tourism, sports tourism, education tourism, ’green’ tourism and health tourism. In addition, the Conference would want to reflect tourism in the Arab world and invite speakers from Arab Spring areas such as Egypt to talk about the challenges facing ‘political’ tourism in the region

The Conference would also underline the importance of the tourism industry and hospitality as a career of choice –especially against the background of Qatar currently having 81 hotels today with a further 110 hotels under construction, making it the undisputed hospitality capital of the region. A GCC Tourism Ministers’ Summit is planned to develop a meaningful Communiqué at the end of the Conference on a “Skills Action Plan for Hospitality and Tourism” in the region.
Equally, Qatar is known to be the land of opportunity for construction companies, consultants , architects and designers with $billions being spent on infrastructure and new transport networks needed for 2022, so hotels are becoming the virtual ambassadors for Qatar’s tourism industry, as business men flock from all over the world to get a share of the business boom in Qatar.

Qatar is also a centre for enterprise, as the country’s economy increasingly shifts to non-carbon and private sector enterprise in line with developing a knowledge-based society.

Stenden University Qatar can lay claim to uniquely offering international hospitality business management degree programmes and education that results in jobs and great career paths in the industry on graduation. Its track record shows 98% of graduates are gainfully employed within 4 months of leaving. Stenden is perfectly placed to train hotel staff to acquire the best approach from the front line to warmly welcome visitors, who will then be able to recommend hotels when they reach home and applaud the country’s tourism efforts.

For further information, please contact: Allison Tuffrey-Jones, General Manager, Aspect Communications ME
T: +974 4486 7690 M: +974 3358 9891 E: allison.jones@aspect.qa