Qatar will host the United Nations World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO) conference on 'human resource challenge for tourism' in April.

The announcement came from Qatar Tourism and Exhibitions Authority (QTEA) chairman Ahmed Abdullah Al Nuaimi at the 11th German-Arab Forum on Tourism, organised on the sidelines of the International Tourism Bourse (ITB 2009) in Berlin.

He said the summit will be held in Doha from April 21 to 22.

“In Qatar we believe that tourism plays a chief role in both stimulus programmes and building infrastructure, due to its immense capacity to create jobs and its recovery potential,” said Al Nuaimi.

“By hosting this international conference on the human resource challenge for tourism, we’ve created a unique opportunity to assess the volatile economic situation and its impact on tourism, and discuss the appropriate responses and policy recommendations.”

Speaking on the role of QTEA in Qatar’s economy, Al Nuaimi explained: “QTEA has helped create a new economic pillar in the country by combining business and leisure.

“We are already a hub for business and the MICE industry, with over 120 international conferences and exhibitions organized in 2008. Ninety-five per cent of visitors to Qatar come for a business purposes.

“We have built our infrastructure to support a very specific demographic, namely business focused tourism and high-end leisure tourism.”

Al Nuaimi also highlighted the unique combination of tourism and the economy in Qatar, that preserves Qatar’s identity.

“We are not looking to attract mass-tourism, but rather a specific niche within the market.  Catering to every tourism demographic would force us to lose our identity,” he said.

“But tourism in Qatar is not just about entertainment. In Qatar we are dedicated to sharing our culture with our guests through a variety of sites such as our new museum of Islamic art,” he concluded. – TradeArabia News Service