(MENAFN- The Peninsula) A large crowd of tourism professionals and experts visited Qatar Tourism Authority (QTA) stand in the first two days of ITB Berlin 2015.
The 49th international tourism exhibition opened in German capital Berlin on Wednesday and runs until Sunday.
On the sidelines, QTA partners held meetings with travel agents in Germany and other European countries.
Qatari Ambassador Abdulrahman bin Mohamed Al Khulaifi also visited the pavilion where he was welcomed by Rashed Al Qurese, Chief Marketing and Promotions Officer, QTA, Hamad Al Khaja, Head, Promotions and Events, and other officials.
More than 10,000 exhibitors from 180 countries, including tourism experts, government officials and media representative are taking part to showcase and discuss latest developments and trends in the tourism industry.
QTA is leading the Qatari delegation of 22 tourism organisations, including 14 hotels and eight destination management companies.
The team is promoting Qatar's tourism products, services and initiatives. Participating hotels include Grand Hyatt Doha, Grand Regal, Four Seasons, InterContinental Doha, Ritz- Carlton, Sharq Village & Spa, St Regis, Sheraton Doha Resort & Convention Hotel, Souq Waqif Boutique Hotels, The Torch, Retaj Hotels & Hospitality, Concord Hotel Doha and The Plaza Inn.
Participating destination management companies are Arabian Adventures Qatar, Qatar International Adventures, Gulf Adventures, Regency Holidays, Discover Qatar (holiday division of Qatar Airways), Sand Dunes, Travel Designer, Arab Destination of Tourism, Banana Island Resort by Antanara, and Marsa Malaz Kempinski.
More than 170,000 people, including 110,000 experts, are expected to visit the expo which opened on Wednesday for tourism professionals and remains open for the public today and tomorrow.
"QTA's participation follows the launch of National Tourism Sector Strategy 2030 last year, which provides a clear vision on Qatari tourism products that should be promoted, targeted markets and how to work with public and private sector partners to realise it," said Al Qurese.
"Our participation highlights the importance of cooperation with partners in the public and private sector and shows the key role they play in promoting a modern and sustainable tourism sector."
QTA was eager to have a new, modern design for Qatar's pavilion to reflect successes of its tourism sector and help promote the country as a world-class destination with deep cultural roots.
The pavilion includes partners specialised in leisure tourism which QTA is focusing on at the expo.
It held meetings with partners prior to the opening of the exhibition to explain the objectives of its participation.
QTA will primarily introduce Qatar's superb leisure and recreational facilities to the German and wider European travel trade, especially as the country has become a leading MICE destination.
QTA also seeks to attract tourists from Europe in general and the German-speaking European countries in particular, as these countries are key tourism exporting markets.
Germany is the second tourist exporting market after China, with 71 million trips, with an average of five days and 76 million trips with an average of two-four days annually.
Last May, QTA opened a representative office in Germany to cover the German-speaking European market.
All booklets and brochures to be distributed at the exhibition to promote Qatar as a tourist destination are in German. The idea is to speak to the Germans in their language, as the German people adhere to their language and culture.
QTA also participated in the First International Hotel Investment Forum on the sidelines to exchange ideas and expertise on how to encourage the private sector to invest in tourism projects and launch leading products.
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