Tribune News Network
Doha
Qatari Hotels Association (QHA), which was established under the umbrella of the Qatari Businessmen Association (QBA), held its second meeting during 2021 in the presence of its founding members.
The meeting discussed the agenda points, including the association’s work plan, its strategy, and its activities during the next phase, in addition to the election of members of the board, and the approval of QHA’s Articles of Association.
At the beginning of the meeting, the attendees expressed their gratitude to His Highness the Amir of the State of Qatar Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani for his permanent support and continuous guidance on expanding the role of the private sector and its contribution to the development process and economic diversification in accordance with Qatar Vision 2030 and launching work programmes that support the trends and public policies towards a diversified and sustainable economy.
After that, the founding members moved to the election clause for electing the chairman and the board members of the Qatari Hotels Association. Sheikh Faisal bin Qassim Al Thani was elected as the chairman, Sheikh Khalid bin Thani Al Thani as first vice-chairman and Omar Hussein Al Fardan as the second vice-chairman, while Sheikh Hamad bin Mohamed Fahd Al Thani was elected as the secretary-general.
Following the elections, the attendees resumed the agenda discussion points and were informed of the ‘Articles of Association’ and the articles regulating it, including the definition of the association, the conditions for its establishment, its purpose, the goals and vision, the conditions for membership and affiliation, the tasks related to the development of the hotel sector, and ways to increase its contribution to the country’s GDP.
The meeting also discussed Qatari Hotels Association’s work plan, strategy and activities during the next phase, foremost of which is the holding of a series of meetings with QHA counterparts or similar entities regionally and globally.
It was decided that such meetings will start with the Turkish Tourism Investors Association (TTYD) to discuss prospects and opportunities for joint cooperation, build common perceptions to enhance and exchange experiences, search for new methods and tools to mitigate the economic impact of the COVID-19 on the hotel and hospitality sector, and to benefit from the experiences of a number of touristic countries in this regard.
The board members also agreed to organise periodic meetings for hotel managers and founding members, with the aim of uniting efforts, exchanging views and ideas, and getting closely acquainted with the challenges that the hotel sector faces, as well as studying proposed solutions to support the sector, contributing to submitting reports, recommendations and formulating policies and legislation related to the hotel sector, and uniting the efforts of hotel owners in order to enhance the effectiveness and role of the sector in Qatar and its affiliated institutions, at the regional level.
The attendees emphasised that the current economic situation that the world is going through as a result of the COVID-19 represents a great challenge to the hotel sector and its workers and to the investment climate in the sector in general. In light of the sharp decline in the number of flights, and the closures that have made people confined to their homes, resulted in the loss of 1.1 billion tourist access translating into a loss of $1.2 trillion in revenue and the decrease of 120 million jobs, according to the data of the World Tourism Organisation.
The attendees unanimously agreed that the continuation of vaccination programmes in Europe, the United States of America and the Arab Gulf states will contribute greatly to the recovery of the tourism sector before the end of this year, which will support the return of the tourist flow and the increase in the movement of individuals in parallel with the start of the businesses and the return of economic activity to its previous status.
According to data from the World Travel and Tourism Council, the tourism sector contributes about 10.3 percent of the total GDP in the world, and provides 330 million jobs.
The participants agreed that the four phases adopted by the competent authorities to gradually lift the restrictions related to the pandemic will contribute to the recovery of the hotel sector in Qatar in parallel with the re-launch of tourism activities, and the search for flexible options for travellers through Qatar Airways, including the provision of tourist vouchers to travellers as a stop shop, accelerate efforts to develop a clear vision for the tourism sector, benefit from previous experiences and work on formulating a strategy to diversify the source of tourists and explore new markets for tourism.
At the end of the meeting, the board members agreed to open the door for membership to join Qatari Hotels Association in accordance with the conditions included in the Articles of the Association.
QHA founding members Sheikh Faisal bin Qassim Al Thani attended the meeting along with Hussein Ibrahim Al Fardan, Sheikh Mohamed bin Fahd Al Thani, Sheikh Khalid bin Thani Al Thani, Omar Hussein Al Fardan, Sheikh Fahd bin Hamad bin Jassim Al Thani, Nawaf Jassim Mohamed Al Jaidah, Sheikh Mohamed bin Faisal bin Qassim Al Thani, Sheikh Hamad bin Mohamed bin Fahd Al Thani, Nasser Sulaiman Al Haidar, Muhammad Ibrahim Al Asmakh, Katara Hospitality Acting CEO Andrew Humphries and QBA Deputy General Manager Sarah Abdullah.
Doha
Qatari Hotels Association (QHA), which was established under the umbrella of the Qatari Businessmen Association (QBA), held its second meeting during 2021 in the presence of its founding members.
The meeting discussed the agenda points, including the association’s work plan, its strategy, and its activities during the next phase, in addition to the election of members of the board, and the approval of QHA’s Articles of Association.
At the beginning of the meeting, the attendees expressed their gratitude to His Highness the Amir of the State of Qatar Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani for his permanent support and continuous guidance on expanding the role of the private sector and its contribution to the development process and economic diversification in accordance with Qatar Vision 2030 and launching work programmes that support the trends and public policies towards a diversified and sustainable economy.
After that, the founding members moved to the election clause for electing the chairman and the board members of the Qatari Hotels Association. Sheikh Faisal bin Qassim Al Thani was elected as the chairman, Sheikh Khalid bin Thani Al Thani as first vice-chairman and Omar Hussein Al Fardan as the second vice-chairman, while Sheikh Hamad bin Mohamed Fahd Al Thani was elected as the secretary-general.
Following the elections, the attendees resumed the agenda discussion points and were informed of the ‘Articles of Association’ and the articles regulating it, including the definition of the association, the conditions for its establishment, its purpose, the goals and vision, the conditions for membership and affiliation, the tasks related to the development of the hotel sector, and ways to increase its contribution to the country’s GDP.
The meeting also discussed Qatari Hotels Association’s work plan, strategy and activities during the next phase, foremost of which is the holding of a series of meetings with QHA counterparts or similar entities regionally and globally.
It was decided that such meetings will start with the Turkish Tourism Investors Association (TTYD) to discuss prospects and opportunities for joint cooperation, build common perceptions to enhance and exchange experiences, search for new methods and tools to mitigate the economic impact of the COVID-19 on the hotel and hospitality sector, and to benefit from the experiences of a number of touristic countries in this regard.
The board members also agreed to organise periodic meetings for hotel managers and founding members, with the aim of uniting efforts, exchanging views and ideas, and getting closely acquainted with the challenges that the hotel sector faces, as well as studying proposed solutions to support the sector, contributing to submitting reports, recommendations and formulating policies and legislation related to the hotel sector, and uniting the efforts of hotel owners in order to enhance the effectiveness and role of the sector in Qatar and its affiliated institutions, at the regional level.
The attendees emphasised that the current economic situation that the world is going through as a result of the COVID-19 represents a great challenge to the hotel sector and its workers and to the investment climate in the sector in general. In light of the sharp decline in the number of flights, and the closures that have made people confined to their homes, resulted in the loss of 1.1 billion tourist access translating into a loss of $1.2 trillion in revenue and the decrease of 120 million jobs, according to the data of the World Tourism Organisation.
The attendees unanimously agreed that the continuation of vaccination programmes in Europe, the United States of America and the Arab Gulf states will contribute greatly to the recovery of the tourism sector before the end of this year, which will support the return of the tourist flow and the increase in the movement of individuals in parallel with the start of the businesses and the return of economic activity to its previous status.
According to data from the World Travel and Tourism Council, the tourism sector contributes about 10.3 percent of the total GDP in the world, and provides 330 million jobs.
The participants agreed that the four phases adopted by the competent authorities to gradually lift the restrictions related to the pandemic will contribute to the recovery of the hotel sector in Qatar in parallel with the re-launch of tourism activities, and the search for flexible options for travellers through Qatar Airways, including the provision of tourist vouchers to travellers as a stop shop, accelerate efforts to develop a clear vision for the tourism sector, benefit from previous experiences and work on formulating a strategy to diversify the source of tourists and explore new markets for tourism.
At the end of the meeting, the board members agreed to open the door for membership to join Qatari Hotels Association in accordance with the conditions included in the Articles of the Association.
QHA founding members Sheikh Faisal bin Qassim Al Thani attended the meeting along with Hussein Ibrahim Al Fardan, Sheikh Mohamed bin Fahd Al Thani, Sheikh Khalid bin Thani Al Thani, Omar Hussein Al Fardan, Sheikh Fahd bin Hamad bin Jassim Al Thani, Nawaf Jassim Mohamed Al Jaidah, Sheikh Mohamed bin Faisal bin Qassim Al Thani, Sheikh Hamad bin Mohamed bin Fahd Al Thani, Nasser Sulaiman Al Haidar, Muhammad Ibrahim Al Asmakh, Katara Hospitality Acting CEO Andrew Humphries and QBA Deputy General Manager Sarah Abdullah.