Hospitality Qatar 2016 Pre-Show Conference Launched at “Intercontinental Doha The City”

Hospitality Qatar 2016, the 360° Hospitality and HORECA show, was officially launched today during a conference held at the Intercontinental Doha The City. The show, organized by IFP Qatar, is licensed by the Qatar Tourism Authority (QTA). Under the patronage of HE Sheikh Ahmed Bin Jassim Al Thani, Minister of Economy and Commerce, Hospitality Qatar will be held from 18 to 20 October 2016 at the Doha Exhibition and Convention Center (DECC). The exhibition, welcoming 5 national pavilions, will bring thousands of visitors from around the globe to meet more than 132 exhibitors from 10 countries. The event will provide a progressive platform for Hospitality, Hotels, Restaurants, and Cafes operators to showcase their latest products and build new business opportunities.

Commenting on the show, Mr. George Ayache, IFP Qatar’s General Manager, stated: “Hospitality Qatar 2016 represents Qatar’s largest exposition for Hotels, Restaurants, and Cafés. These sectors are expanding at such a rapid rate, that the interest in this year’s show has reached all-time high levels. Qatar’s investment in the hospitality sector is clearly visible with nearly 105 upcoming hotels and approximately 21,000 rooms at various stages of construction, and more than 40 Billion USD to be invested in the Hospitality Sector over the upcoming 15 years. Our show represents the finest opportunity for buyers and sellers to meet and network. We give many thanks to HE Sheikh Ahmed Bin Jassim Al Thani for his patronage and unwavering support. We also express our gratitude to our loyal sponsors, as well as the new ones that have joined us for the first time this year.”

Mr. Ayache also revealed the confirmed prominent buyers which will be attending the show including Ali Bin Ali – Hospitality, Al Faisal Holding, Monoprix, Sheraka Holding, Qatar Culinary Professionals, La Villa Hospitality, W hotel, Wyndham Grand Regency Hotel, and many more key decision-makers. These buyers will get to meet all exhibitors from: Austria, Bahrain, China, Germany, Egypt, Kuwait, Lebanon, Qatar, Pakistan, and Turkey. We have even created our very own Business-to-Business matchmaking platform to further develop this exchange platform added Mr. Ayache. With the help of B2B2GO, one of the world’s most prominent online platform developers, the B2B interactive online platform that will be launched this year at Hospitality Qatar will automatically match the needs of hospitality industry buyers with those of exhibiting suppliers. The platform will feature buyers, decision-makers, hoteliers, chiefs, procurement professionals, and marketing directors, and allow meetings with suppliers to be scheduled during the show.

Emphasizing on Hospitality Qatar’s educational side, Mr. Ayache also mentioned a number of workshops to take place during the exhibition: “We have a number of key hospitality topics taking place simultaneously with the show which will be facilitated by some of the region’s top experts. The subjects to be discussed include: Qatar’s hotel and tourism market overview, Hospitality’s role in achieving QNV 2030, grading and classification systems in Hospitality, and several more”.

Mr. Ayache concluded by discussing Hospitality Qatar’s concurrent event, Salon Culinaire. “This year, the Salon Culinaire will include 17 categories such as: fruit and ice curving, live cooking, mocktail competition, chocolate showpiece, novelty cake, five course set menu, and many others. International and regional juries will supervise the competition in coordination with Qatar Culinary Professionals (QCP) and World Association of Chefs Societies (WACS). More than 250 chefs from various 5, 4 and 3-star hotels and restaurants have already confirmed their participation”.

Several sponsors of the show were also represented at the press conference podium, including representatives from: Qatar Culinary Professionals, Al Sraiya Hotels & Hospitality Group, Boecker Public Safety LLC, Inox Kitchen, Haidari Trading Company, Tonino Lamborghini, and Intercontinental Doha.

Speaking about their participation at Hospitality Qatar 2016, Mrs. Carla Ghaleb, Country Manager, Boecker Public Safety LLC stated: “Hospitality Qatar serves as a vital platform to Boecker who aims to share with its stakeholders the newest practices and approaches in Food Safety and Pest Management. As Qatar is witnessing a substantial growth in hospitality sector, we are delighted to contribute to this growth through our yearly strategic partnership with Hospitality Qatar as official associate and Hygiene Sponsor.”

Another show sponsor, US Beef, represented by Mrs. Nina Bakht Halal, Director, had this to say about Hospitality Qatar: “The U.S. Meat Export Federation (USMEF) is a trade association that seeks to develop international markets for U.S. meat. We see Qatar and the GCC as key strategic markets, and therefore, consider Hospitality Qatar to be the perfect venue for us to create better awareness of the quality, safety, and wholesomeness of our products.”

Mr. Fadhel Bin Khalifa, Purchasing Manager of Haidari Trading Company remarked: “Hospitality Qatar is an excellent choice for our company to showcase our high quality fresh fruits and vegetables. We have a fleet of 35 fully refrigerated vehicles delivering to hotels, restaurants, and catering companies every day across Qatar. Hospitality Qatar helps us meet the key buyers across Qatar and enables us to continue to grow our business.”

Hospitality Qatar opens its doors from Tuesday 18th to Thursday 20th of October, daily from 3:00 PM to 9:00 PM – registration is free.