QATAR TRAVEL MART 2021

The long-awaited 1st edition of Qatar Travel Mart (QTM) 2021, organised by NeXTfairs will bring together key players in the local, regional and international travel and tourism industry to offer the most sought-after upscale travel destinations, as well as the latest trends on tourism sectors such as Luxury, Business, Medical, Sports, Leisure, Cultural and Halal.

QTM will provide insights and new perspectives on the future of tourism with a 3-day Conference, by bringing together local and international experts who will share their knowledge on industry movements and directions. QTM 2021 aims to connect global tourism businesses to stimulate the industry’s recovery, opening new horizons and showcasing fresh opportunities.

The exhibition is under the Patronage of the Prime Minister and Minister of Interior, H.E. Sheikh Khalid bin Khalifa bin Abdulaziz Al Thani, and in Strategic Partnership with Qatar Tourism. It also has Katara Hospitality as Founding Partner, Qatar Airways as Official Airline, and Discover Qatar & Qatar Airways Holidays as Founding Leisure Partners. In addition, Amadeus is the event’s Technology Partner, Retaj Hotels & Hospitality the Gold Sponsor and Gulf Adventures the Silver Sponsor.

Internationally, QTM has Association Partners, which are The World Association for Hospitality and Tourism Education and Training (AMFORHT), World Leisure Organisation (WLO), and World Tourism Association for Culture & Heritage (WTACH).

Rawad Sleem, Co-Founder and General Manager of NeXTfairs for Exhibitions and Conferences, explained: “We are delighted to have full government support for the inaugural edition of Qatar Travel Mart and from all our sponsors in Qatar’s leading organisations and international associations.

We are very proud to have achieved the participation of 31 countries and 14 large pavilions with 136 exhibitors at our first event. Tourism is a priority sector for Qatar’s economy and QTM 2021 aims to provide a timely boost for the revival of the sector after the pandemic. It’s back to business for tourism in Qatar and our business events industry is key for supporting its renewal.”

He continued: “QTM 2021 is being held in one of the most active markets for investment in hospitality, as Qatar gets ready to welcome the world at the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022.”

Speakers at the Conference will cover in-depth key topics such as the Road to Recovery and How the Future will look; Sustainable Tourism & Development; Innovation & New Trends; and a CEO Panel Discussion will focus on Behavioural Changes of Consumers and Hiring and retention of Employees in Travel, Tourism and Hospitality Industry.

The event also features a Hosted Buyers’ Programme, involving 24 influential buyers from all over the world to network and to close deals.

A 3 day media familiarisation trip for international media will showcase FIFA 2022 World Cup stadiums and many of Qatar’s famous cultural sites and attractions, as well as Qatar’s impressive hospitality landmarks.

Jill Jiao, QTM Exhibition Manager explained on the Travel & Tourism stats, “reports from Oxford Economics estimate that Qatar will receive an additional $0.9bn in visitor expenditure and 290,000 visitor arrivals on average per year over the period 20222025 as a direct result of the marketing investment. Additional gains in market share will be achieved in the longer run through continued visa expansion and tourism product improvements, while the estimated number of jobs supported by the travel and tourism sector in 2030 will hit around 247,800’’.

The East Mediterranean International Tourism & Travel Exhibition – EMITT, which was not held in 2021 due to the pandemic, is preparing to take place at TÜYAP Fair Convention and Congress Center on February 9-12, 2022, after a two-year hiatus.

Digital transformation in tourism and innovative approaches that will make Turkey reach the top, will be discussed at EMITT's extensive 25th anniversary event programme.

EMITT adopts the mission of a common mind platform for approaches that will make Turkey reach the top, which ranks 6th among the world's most tourist-attracting countries and hosted 51.7 million tourists in 2019 and obtained UK£25.5 billion from tourism, just before the pandemic. This year, four main themes, which are tourism economy, trends leading the sector, prominent destinations and technological innovations that will mark the next decade will be discussed in the panels and events.

Health tourism sector worth UK£740 million will be presented at the EMITT for the 1st time. Diversifying the tourism products and cooperation opportunities it provides to foreign buyers and visitors, EMITT Exhibition aims to promote Turkish health tourism in other countries.

EMITT increased the total number of visitors by 29% and the number of foreign visitors by 87% in 2019. The exhibition, which was last held in 2019, brought together nearly 1000 exhibitors and 200 tour operators from 103 countries with 44.321 visitors.

Rates expected to increase in 2022 Thanks to the global increase in COVID-19 vaccination rates, the number of tourism and travel activities has increased significantly compared to January-August 2020. According to the data of the Ministry of Tourism, the total number of tourists coming to Turkey in January-August 2021 increased to 14 million. It was 7.25 million in January-August 2020.