Doha-Ali Rammahi
The Qatar Tourism Authority (QTA) invited over two hundred tourism delegates to the World Tourism Day conference, held in the Four Seasons Doha on 27th September 2005. The event was organised by the Qatar Tourism Authority (QTA) and the World Tourism Organization (WTO) a specialised United Nations agency for tourism based in Madrid, Spain.
WTD is an international day, endorsing awareness among the international community of the importance of tourism and its social, cultural, political and economic values.
The Qatar Tourism Authority (QTA) has taken a special interest in commemorating this day, QTA Chairman Mr. Akbar Al-Baker emphasized. He took this opportunity to point out Qatar’s remarkable achievements in establishing itself as a tourist destination and an important player in international travel.
The theme of the conference was “Travel and Transport: From the Imagination of Jules Verne to 21st Century Reality”, a tribute to the great French visionary and writer. The two main speakers were Mr. Akbar Al Baker and Mr. Francesco Frangialli - Secretary General, WTO. "Today more and more people can afford to travel. In 1950 it was twenty million, last year 760 million, and by 2020 it is expected that the number of international travelers will exceed 1.6 billion a year." Mr. Frangialli, said.
Qatar will increase flights to Asia and special packages will be created to increase flights. Mr Al-Baker was confident that the $2.5 billion construction plan for the Qatar Pearl Resort will be provided. The demand for more accommodation will also be met. Speakers at the event pointed out the potential for tourism in the Middle East. The holy shrines and Islamic museums are a focal point for tourism in the region.
The Qatar Foundation, Qatar Airways and the Doha Asian Games Organising Committee announced their charity campaign (Reach out for Asia) to aid the underprivileged and disaster victims such as those left homeless by the Tsunami. New homes will be built and Asian tourism assisted. It is expected that donations from visitors to the 2006 Asian Games in Doha will assist the campaign.
Speakers at the National Tourism Conference included WTO Secretary-General Francesco Frangialli and representatives of Qatar's hotel industry, travel agencies and other travel-related services. A workshop to debate Transport and Tourism in Qatar, was organized. The panelists included: Dr. Ahmed Al Kuwari (Qatar Planning Council), Mr. Juergen Baumhoff (C.E.O., Qatar National Hotels), Mr. Emad M. Abujalala (C.E.O., Gulf Adventures), Mr. Jan Poul de Boer (Acting Director, General Qatar Tourism), Mr. Nick Cashkiroff (Development Director, UDC- The Pearl Qatar), and Mr. Ehab Abdel Fattah Amin (Regional Manager, Qatar Airways (Qatar, Levant, Turkey, Greece). |