The biggest event in Qatar’s tourism calendar, Qatar Travel Mart, is only a few days away, with organisers expecting it to be bigger and better than ever!

Taking place at the Doha Exhibition and Convention Centre (DECC), sponsers and partners include Visit Qatar (Strategic Partner), Katara Hospitality (Founding Partner), Visit Morocco (Title Sponsor), Hilton (Hotel Partner) and the World Tourism Association for Culture and Heritage (Association Partner) among 10 others organisations. Their involvement highlights the importance of collaboration in driving forward Qatar’s ambitious tourism vision for 2030, reported Qatar News Agency.

Organisers are expecting to welcome more than 12,000 industry professionals from 60 countries over the three-day event starting 25 November 2024. Fortunately, the 48,000m2 convention centre has the capacity to host the thousands of visitors in addition to the 300 hosted buyers that have signed up to attend this year’s event.  

In its third year, Qatar Tourism Mart will revolve around the theme ‘Discover Places, People and Cultures’ through an expanded program capturing seven production sectors from business to leisure, luxury, medical, cultural, sports and halal tourism. 

Abdulaziz Ali Al Mawlawi, Visit Qatar’s Chief Executive Officer, recently highlighted the significance of the annual exhibition to the country’s tourism industry, which attracted a healthy 2.6 million visitors in the first six months of 2024, up a huge 28% on the same period last year. 

“Visit Qatar recognises the Meetings, Incentives, Conferences, and Exhibitions (MICE) industry as integral to its strategic goals, after leisure, MICE is the second most important pillar driving growth in Qatars tourism sector,” Mr Al Mawlawi explained. 

He continued, saying Qatar Travel Mart “facilitates partnerships and investments” and “fosters awareness of the latest happenings” across the Middle Eastern country and the world. 

“By investing in world-class facilities and venues we were able to host large-scale, global events, an important mean by which we will fulfil our objective of becoming the fastest growing tourism destination in the Middle East by 2030 and reaching 6 million visitors.” 

If you’re lucky enough to have a ticket to this year’s Qatar Travel Mart, here are 5 things you can expect to see and experience:

1. See Qatar

First and foremost, attendees will have the chance to experience Qatar as a tourist and event destination. 

Attendees will stay at the country’s best hotels, experience at least one dinner at a highly coveted restaurant and see the capabilities of Doha Exhibition and Convention Centre in action. If you have time, we highly recommend booking in for one of Qatar’s world-class spa treatments. 

2. Mingle with the many international exhibitors 

If there’s a travel product or company that you’re keen to learn more about or meet with, they’ll likely be available to chat at the Qatar Travel Mart. 

This year’s exhibitors range from local Qatari tour operators to international tourism boards (including the Dominican Republic, Malta and more), embassies, hoteliers, health spa operators and much, much more. 

3. Dive into panel discussions 

If reading about tourism trends isn’t in your range, then perhaps listening to them is. 

One of the key panel discussions this year is titled ‘The Future of Travel and Tourism: A Growing Positive Curve’ which will delve into what’s coming up for the industry. Taking part in the discussion will be representatives from Qatar Tourism, Katara Hospitality, European Tourism Association, World Tourism Association for Culture & Heritage and Department of Hospitality and Tourism Management at the University of Massachusetts. 

Other discussions taking place over the three days include ‘Creating a World Class Sustainable Destination & Services’ and ‘Preserving Cultural Heritage & Promoting Tourism’. 

4. Watch cultural performances 

No doubt a highlight of this year’s Qatar Tourism Mart will be the cultural performances closing out each day of the event. 

With culture being one of the production sectors in focus this year, attendees can expect to see and experience dances, songs and stories from the Dominican Republic, Thailand, Mexico, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Ethiopia, India and Argentina.  

5. Speak on sustainability 

A reoccurring topic in this year’s schedule is sustainable with multiple keynote speakers discussing various approaches to meaningful tourism, preserving culture, and taking the greener route.

If you haven’t already, learn more about Qatar Travel Mart 2024 and check out this year’s full schedule, here.