Doha Jumps 49 Positions in World Rankings for Top Convention City

Doha, May 21 (QNA) - Doha's status as one of the world's most popular destinations to host conventions, meetings and conferences has received a big boost with the capital city jumping 49 positions to occupy the 111th rank in a globally acknowledged country and city rankings. Doha is placed joint 111th along with Florence, Riga and San Juan in a list of over 360 participating cities in the rankings released by the International Congress and Convention Association (ICCA) 2012 Country and City Rankings. The rankings are based on the number of international association meetings that rotate between a minimum of three countries. Hailing Doha's rise in ranking, Qatar National Convention Centre General Manager Adam Maher-Brown said, "This is a commendable achievement. It demonstrates the commitment of all the stakeholders to achieve the country's aspiration of becoming a world class meetings destination." Qatar is actively developing its business tourism product in terms of destination appeal, improving infrastructure, and investing in world class accommodation, he said, and added, "We are working with suppliers, hoteliers and relevant authorities to build awareness of the destination and increase the number of Business Tourism Events that are attracted to this metropolitan hub with deep cultural roots." Members from Qatari teams are in attendance to promote Doha as a meetings destination at the three-day IMEX show (Stand D 620) which opened today (May 21) in Frankfurt. Qatar's quest to develop as a top MICE (Meetings, Initiatives, Conferences and Exhibitions) destination took a giant step forward when QNCC was launched in December 2011. Since its launch the Centre has hosted 347 events and welcomed 197,212 delegates and visitors. It has generated US $93 Million through overseas delegates visiting Qatar to attend various conferences. QNCC continues to raise the profile of Qatar and has just won the bid to host the annual ICCA Client/Supplier International Workshop from April 10 to 12, 2014. The event will attract a number of international association clients who will have the potential to bring future congress to Qatar. A member of the Qatar Foundation, QNCC features a conference hall of 4,000-seat theatre style, a 2,300-seat theatre, three auditoria and a total of 52 flexible meetings rooms to accommodate a wide range of events. It also houses 40,000 square metres of exhibition space over nine halls, and is adaptable to seat 10,000 for a conference or banquet. (QNA)