Over 70 conference venues and organizers, destination management companies and travel agencies attended a workshop on successful bidding for conferences and events organized by Qatar Tourism Authority (QTA) in collaboration with the International Conferences and Conventions Association (ICCA).

Held as part of QTA’s efforts to empower the private business events sector, the workshop introduced participants to the ingredients of a successful bid strategy and ways to benefit from the ICCA database of international associations to increase the number of association meetings held in Qatar.

ICCA is a global body that specializes in the international association meetings sector, offering unrivalled data, communication channels, and business development opportunitiesto members in 90 countries. In 2014, it ranked Qatar as 70^th in its “2014 worldwide country ranking”.

In his opening remarks Mr. Hamad Al Abdan, Director of Exhibitions at QTA, said: “Qatar’s National Tourism Sector Strategy places great emphasis on business events, and especially on increasing the involvement of local stakeholders in the national efforts to promote the country as a destination for conferences and conventions.”

“Bidding for international, large-scale events is an important component in raising Qatar’s profile in this area. Currently, venues and event organizers in Qatar pitch directly to associations. However, we recognize that a collaborative and unified approach is crucial to effectively conveying Qatar’s unique selling points as a globally competitive business events’ destination,” he continued.

Al Abdan also encourage attending industry members to pursue membership of ICCA and capitalize on the Association’s resources, expertise, and various tools to ensure quality events.

Qatar is seeking a 20% increase in visitors of the next five years, and expects a large portion of the increase to come from visitors attending business events. As part of its membership in ICCA, QTA works to position Qatar as a strong candidate for association meetings, and has recently hosted 22 international association meetings and rotational congresses, including the 70th Annual General Meeting of the International Air Transport Association –IATA, World Exchange Congress, the 3rd FINA World Aquatics Convention, and the 30th Patient Classification System International Conference – PCSI.

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