In a recent edition of Qatar Today, we looked at how the country is perceived as a nation from a political standpoint. For such a small and relatively insignificant country a decade ago, it has fast-tracked its way to the top table in many sectors. One area where it's perceived they are doing quite well is in Business Tourism. How does Qatar fare against its closest rivals?
Travel and Tourism is one of the most important industries in Germany, where each year German travellers spend more than $80 billion abroad for various products and services - this is even more than the US. Germany has also the eighth largest inbound tourist trade. Qatar Today spoke to Matthias Schultz, Sales Director for FVW Mediengruppe, Germany's leading travel industry media group with more than 40 years of expertise in tourism and travel to gain a better understanding of how Qatar is perceived as a business tourism destination in the hotspot for the sector currently.
"Qatar is a young player in the market," he says. "Destinations such as Dubai or Abu Dhabi are well established, but Doha needs to push for exposure and awareness - it needs to spend more on communication, PR and marketing in order to outline the USPs (Unique Selling Proposition) or reasons to have an event in there. Last year, it started a strong communication campaign in the German market and has invited leading travel and MICE experts to Qatar to explore the facilities and opportunities. The outcome was that the overall product is attractive and can compete but there is still room for improvement.
How much contact does a leading travel group in Germany have with Qatar and the Middle East in general? Why would Germans want to do business in a place as far away as Qatar?
"We have long lasting and good business relationships with all governments (Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Sharjah, Ras Al-Kaimah), with the airlines (Emirates, Etihad, Qatar Airways, Gulf Air) and with the various hotels groups. The business relationships are not only in terms of advertising business - for some of the governments we are consulting workshops for tourism marketing services.
"The Gulf region has a strategically good position geographically.
As the German industry is living from its exports and international business relationships (a huge amount in Asia and Middle East) it is extremely convenient to have conferences, events, meetings and seminars in the Gulf region. Asian business partners and their European counterparts can meet half way."
Schultz is of the opinion that it's good to focus on both leisure and business tourism, but the competition is so strong in the leisure segment that it would be very difficult to compete here. He is however positive and optimistic about the future for Qatar in the business segment, and gifts some advice.
"Large global events such as the FIFA World Cup will lead to a higher visibility of Qatar and will push the country to a much higher level in terms of event management and facilities. Again the hub situation will add benefit. Once Qatar achieves a reputation of not being "a second Dubai" or "another UAE" (which is of course inaccurate,
but a lot of visitors don't know any different), and is a valuable destination with its own USPs, Qatar will lead the industry. Especially as Dubai struggles to maintain its reputation due to the crises and real estate dramas."
Dubai
How is Dubai doing, in light of their recent set-backs? It was the pioneer of business travel in the Middle East. Qatar Today asked the Director at Dubai Convention Bureau, Jerad Bachar how competitive Dubai is at the moment.
"MICE is one of the primary tourism segments for Dubai," he says. "Depending on the time of year and location of hotel, MICE can contribute as much as 25% of hotel occupancies. A strong focus has been placed upon the segment in the DTCM's (Dubai Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing) next four year strategy.
Dubai's tourism strength comes from a diversification in market segments and in source markets. There is a strong, collective focus on MICE and this collaboration exists among hotels, DMCs, PCOs, the World Trade Centre, and the DTCM's Dubai Convention Bureau." How do those involved in promoting Dubai tourism feel about the rise of Qatar as a player in this segment? Is it good to raise competition for standards within the region, or do they feel that there's not enough meat on the bone to feed all the MICE players?
Are they all offering the same package essentially? "The MICE industry offers vast opportunities for us all," he continues. "We find that more and more clients are looking at destinations from a business perspective, not only focusing on particular hotels, attractions, and activities. If an organiser has a strong business reason to be in the destination, they will typically favor that location. There will be occasions when customers will want/need to be in Doha, same applies to Dubai and Abu Dhabi. When it comes to regional development of MICE destinations, it doesn't have to be a winner takes all outcome. There is enough business for us all to succeed.
"Dubai's strength comes from a number of areas. The commerce and trade network that exists in Dubai is a strong attraction for many organisations; generally speaking the companies that participate in many of the events are generally based here in Dubai. Further the airlift, hotel options, expanded convention centre and the large number of expert service providers all contribute to Dubai's attraction," he added.
Abu Dhabi
According to the 5th Middle East meetings Industry Research Report in 2011, the UAE was the leading country in the Gulf for the number of business events held and Abu Dhabi came 2nd in the list of likely destinations to be chosen for business events in the next 12 months. The report is produced annually with the results being made public at GIBTM later this month.
Business Tourism Manager at Abu Dhabi Tourism & Cultural Authority, Gillian Taylor recognises there is a challenge from Qatar: "We welcome professionalism and experience in the region and global positioning and empowerment of the Arab world but clearly there is competition between the cities. "Abu Dhabi Tourism & Culture Authority has a specialised division dedicated to attracting MICE business. We have started 2012 well with our largest congress ever - the World Ophthalmology Congress 2012 - which attracted more than 10,000 attendees, 80% who had never visited Abu Dhabi before. We are currently bidding on several major conventions associated with the medical and cultural sectors. In the main, we focus on sectors that are linked to the Abu Dhabi 2030 plan. Our key source markets are predominately where we have offices - UK, Germany, Italy, France, USA, China, Australia and Russia - andalso anywhere that Etihad Airways flies.
In the face of some fierce competition from Dubai, Doha and other regional and global cities, what can Abu Dhabi bring that the others cannot. What kind of facilities are they trying to entice prospective MICE groups with?
"Abu Dhabi is the administrative and business capital of the UAE and the place to do business so it is easy to justify the ROI and ROO of bringing a business event here," Taylor continues. "In addition to ADNEC and ICC (International Convention Centre) and many hotels, there are other unusual and character venues for meetings and events, such as "Ferrari World Abu Dhabi - the world's largest indoor theme park which significantly enhances our incentive appeal, has meeting space and is available for private functions."
© Qatar Today 2012
