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Qatar

5th Hospitality Qatar sees increase in participants

Published: 06 Nov 2019 - 08:33 am | Last Updated: 11 Nov 2021 - 10:58 am
Peninsula

Raynald C Rivera | The Peninsula

The fifth edition of Hospitality Qatar is all set to open on November 12 with bigger number of exhibitors and a number of new exciting features, organisers have said yesterday.

Spread on a 17,896sqm space at the Doha Exhibition and Convention Center, the three-day annual global hospitality and HORECA trade show will see the participation of 212 exhibitors from 33 countries, seven of which will have national pavilions.

The participating countries include Argentina, Austria, Belgium, Botswana, Bulgaria, Canada, China, Croatia, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Iran, Italy, Japan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Malaysia, Mexico, the Netherlands, Oman, Pakistan, Palestine, Paraguay, Qatar, Russia, Singapore, Spain, Sri Lanka, Sweden, Turkey, Ukraine and Venezuela. Countries with national pavilions are China, India, Iran, Italy, Malaysia, Russia and Turkey.

Last year, the event witnessed 188 exhibitors from 20 countries, which showcased thousands of HORECA supplies and services to over 7,200 visitors. 
“Hospitality Qatar is once again taking the sector to new heights with the upcoming 5th edition in partnership with QNTC to further strengthen the country’s tourism and hospitality sector. We commend the strong support of the government for providing us with the guidance to further attract investment and trade opportunities for the country,” said Haidar Mshaimesh, General Manager of IFP Qatar, organisers of the event at a press conference yesterday at InterContinental Doha The City.

Under the Patronage of H E Ali bin Ahmed Al Kuwari, Minister of Commerce and Industry, the event will be held in partnership with the Qatar National Tourism Council (QNTC) for the second year as part of QNTC’s commitment to present Qatar’s latest tourism developments and hospitality opportunities to the global market. 

“QNTC is committed to supporting business events such as exhibitions and conferences as key contributors to business tourism. And, we are pleased to support Hospitality Qatar once again, especially as we are working together this year to enrich the content of the conference and training sessions that are taking place on the sidelines of the exhibition. As part of our commitment to empowering members of the sector to enhance the visitor experience, we are hosting experts in customer experience and event management, and hope that visitors to Hospitality Qatar benefit from the training they will offer, whether they work in hospitality, destination management or events,” said Ahmed Al Obaidli, from QNTC in a statement.

The new free-of-charge Certified Training Program for hospitality professionals provided by leading international experts, will be held for the first time during the first and third day of the event. The topics include customer service, time management, and food safety and hygiene to promote best practices for industry practitioners that will be part of the upcoming FIFA World Cup 2022. It will feature international guest speakers in the field of customer service and fan management including Javier Martinez and Hamish Taylor.

This year, Hospitality Qatar will launch the new “Destination Pavilion,” sponsored by Qatar Airways. It will showcase a wide array of significant projects and highlight the various developments in tourist destinations and services.

“Qatar Airways’ participation for the first time as a key sponsor of the exhibition is in line with the continuing growth of our network of key destinations. Qatar Airways sponsors an exclusive pavilion for tourism destinations to showcase the many destination points where the airline flies. This dedicated exhibition zone also hosts several tourism authorities from the various embassiesin Qatar with whom Qatar Airways has been enjoying a long-standing partnership,” said Salam Al Shawa, Senior Vice-President of Marketing & Corporate Communications, Qatar Airways. Another new feature is the “Luxury Tourism” exhibition zone, introduced in association with Luxury Trade & Marketing Group. 

Giosafat Regano, Italian Trade Commissioner, said: “As part of our continuous efforts in boosting economic relations with Qatar, the Italían Trade Agency in cooperation with the National Confederation of Craft Sector and SMEs, 30 companies from North to South of Italy, are coming together under Italy’s official pavilion this year to participate at Hospitality Qatar’s fifth edition, showcasing a wide range of products, services, and solutions that serve the hospitality and tourism sectors in Qatar.”

Mahday Al Hebabi, Business Director, Vodafone Qatar; Saba Al Fadala, PR and Communication Director, Baladna food Industries; Giossafat Rigano, Italian Trade Commissioner, Embassy of Italy; Clara Samuelian, Marketing Manager, Corona; Ralph Khoury, Marketing Manager Inox kitchen equipment; Carla Ghaleb, Country Manager Boecker public safety; Maher Chukir, Corporate Communication Manager Qatar Import and Export; Vincent Monavon, Director of Sales and Marketing InterContinental Doha the City; Tassos Kotzias, Project Manager, Luxury Trade and Marketing Group; Imad Askar, Operations Director Askar Industrial, and Chef Baran Yucel; Chairman of Qatar Culinary Professionals, attended the press conference to announce the 5th Hospitality Qatar in Doha yesterday.