In line with efforts to develop the tourism sector, Qatar is set to professionalise tour guiding with the signing of an agreement between Qatar Tourism Authority (QTA) and Stenden University Qatar (SUQ) to introduce a new training programme for prospective guides. The Tour Guide Licence Programme seeks to develop professional guides who are knowledgeable about Qatar’s rich history, culture and heritage and tourist sights. A Letter of Agreement was signed by QTA Chairman, Engineer Issa bin Mohamad Al Mohannadi, and Stenden University Qatar President, Wayne Johnson. “As part of QTA’s mission to develop human capital, we initiated the programme to ensure Qatar’s guides are professional. This programme comes in line with QTA’s plan to develop human resources in the tourism sector. Thus, launching this programme is a first step in a series of training programmes to develop human resources in the tourism sector and raise efficiency in the local market to provide tourist services matching international standards,” said Al Mohannadi. The programme will cover Qatar’s history from the Al Ubaidi Period through the Bronze Age, Kassite Period, Greek and Roman influences, Sasonid Period, Islamic Period, Umayyad and Abbassid Period and Bani Khalid Time right up to British Rule and recent history of Qatar. It will also cover the rulers, the Al Thani Dynasty, and the country’s geography, plants and wildlife, land characteristics and weather. The course will include an introduction to tourism, tour guiding, tourism system, communications skills, customer care, health and safety and legal and ethical issues. It will be open to Qatari high school graduates who are familiar with the country’s history and culture and able to speak English and Arabic. SUQ delivers four-year bachelor programmes in business administration with three majors — international business and management studies, international hospitality management and international tourism management. Otmane Sadoki, Head of Academic Operations, Simone Arnheiter, Head of Marketing, Sohair Abul Haija, Senior Academic Specialist Adviser, and Vera Rassam, Student Affairs Manager, attended the ceremony. The Peninsula

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