Growth of Hotels in Focus As QHA, QT Meet

The Qatari Hotels Association (QHA) held a meeting with Qatar Tourism (QT) Deputy Chairperson Saad Al Kharji along with his accompanying delegation.

Held in the presence of QHA Chairman Sheikh Faisal bin Qassim Al Thani, the meeting aimed at discussing the current situation of the hotel and tourism sector in Qatar and enhancing cooperation between QHA and Qatar Tourism in a way that serves the growth and prosperity of the hotel sector.

The meeting was also attended by Omar Al Fardan, QHA second deputy to the chairman, Sheikh Hamad bin Mohammed bin Fahd Al Thani, QHA secretary general, and the founding members Sheikh Mohammed bin Faisal bin Qassim Al Thani, Sheikh Nayef bin Eid Al Thani, and Nasser Sulaiman Al Haider, Nasser Matar Al Kuwari, CEO of Katara Hospitality, and Sarah Abdullah, Deputy Director General of the Qatari Businessmen Association, in addition to a number of executive directors of Qatari hotels.

At the beginning of the meeting, Kharji praised the great role that the Qatari hotels played in the success of the World Cup, whether through providing the infrastructure or the services and events that accompanied the success of the largest sport event inthe world.

He also talked about a road map and a special agenda for the upcoming activities and events that will take place during the last quarter of 2023 and for the entire year 2024, which will be announced in an expanded meeting that includes different stakeholders in the hotel and tourism sector.

During the meeting, the QHA chairman Thani said, “Our wise government is keen to solve the challenges that the private sector faces and provide full support to be a true partner in the country’s economic development, believing that the tourism sector is among the promising economic sectors that creates growth and is a very important pillar in Qatar Vision 2030, calling the need for cooperation to overcome obstacles in the interest of Qatari tourism.”

Highlighting the true partnership between QHA and Qatar Tourism, Sheikh Faisal said that the first meeting is very constructive, and will be followed by other meetings that will enable putting the tourism and hotel sector on the right track and contribute to the development of the sector.

He also highlighted the necessity of unifying the point of contact with Qatar Tourism to facilitate the communication between the differentstakeholders.

For his part, Kharji stated that the meeting with QHA is the first building block for discussing ways to develop the sector, indicating Qatar Tourism’s readiness to cooperate with various government agencies and ministries to resolve and overcome any obstacles, provided that there is a true commitment and partnership between Qatari hotels and Qatar Tourism.

During the meeting, most of the obstacles currently facing the tourism and hotel sector were discussed, and were answered by Al Kharji in full transparency and it was agreed to continue meetings with CEOs and hotel managers during the coming period.

For his part, Omar Al Fardan appreciated the meeting outcomes, pointing out that the Qatari hotels played a distinguished role during the 2022 World Cup, confirming the importance of the tourism sector in Qatar Vision 2030.

Al Fardan stated that through joint work between the private sector and Qatar Tourism, both can reach all goals in Qatar Tourism Strategy, especially since the infrastructure in Qatar is ready, Qatar Airways is doing great work, and the state has made huge investments in order to promote Qatar regionally and globally.

For his part, Sheikh Hamad Mohammed bin Fahd Al Thani said that tourism is an important sector in Qatar and has proven its ability to host major international events, especially during the recent World Cup, stressing that there will be intensive work with Qatar Tourism during the coming period and developing a clear strategy for work.

It will contribute significantly to achieving the desired goals of Qatar’s tourism strategy in the coming years.

Sheikh Hamad added that the Qatari Hotels Association is ready to work together with Qatar Tourism during the coming period to serve the growth and development of the sector.

During the meeting, Nasser Matar Al Kuwari, said that Qatar has paid great attention to the tourism and hotel industry, which makes this sector promising in the future and can contribute significantly to the national economy.

Al Kuwari stressed the importance of Qatar’s investments in the global hotel sector through Investing in major global capital.

it is worth mentioning that the number of hotels and hotel rooms have witnessed significant growth in a short period of time, which is expected to reach 40,000 hotel rooms at the end of the current year, and the numbers announced by Qatar Tourism during the first nine months are promising as a result of the growth of marine tourism and the arrival of a large number of cruise ships during the winter, in addition to the growth of Gulf tourism.