“Various activities are organised aimed at promoting the destination, i.e. Shop Qatar, Qatar International Food Festival, Qatar Balloon Festival, sports tournaments and other exhibitions,” Aurelio Giraudo, cluster general manager at Banyan Tree Doha at La Cigale Mushaireb and La Cigale Hotel managed by Accor, told Gulf Times.
Several events were held in Doha last year, including exhibitions and festivals leading to and during the FIFA Arab Cup in the last quarter, further boosting the hospitality, tourism, retail and other sectors, it is learnt.
Giraudo underlined the strong partnership between Qatar Tourism and hotels in Doha, including Banyan Tree Doha at La Cigale Mushaireb and La Cigale Hotel managed by Accor, in making these events successful to further strengthen Qatar’s position as a favourite tourism destination.
Like other hotels in Doha, he noted that they participate in all the fairs in conjunction with Qatar Tourism, as well as making hotel representation at the ILTM Cannes.
“Both our hotels are listed on the Visit Qatar website and app. We have also done joint venture marketing activities with Qatar Tourism and participated in the 'World Class Chefs' initiative wherein we have organised 'four-hands' Michelin Star events at Il Galante and also launched Vertigo, a panoramic rooftop lounge at Banyan Tree Doha at La Cigale Mushaireb,” Giraudo said.
Qatar also hosted one of the most anticipated events this month – the 31st edition of Doha International Book Fair at the Doha Exhibition and Convention Centre – attracting a large number of participants and visitors while adhering to Covid-19 protocols imposed by the Ministry of Public Health.
Up next is the Katara International Arabian Horse Festival, taking place in February, and a series of other events are also expected to take place in the country this year.
About the hotels' forecasts (in general) for the first quarter considering the third wave of Covid-19 in Qatar, Giraudo said: “We have realigned our forecast for both the hotels based on the current market dynamics and new precautionary measures, which will now come into place. We had forecast higher numbers from the GCC markets, especially the Saudi market due to the school holidays, from mid-January until the first week of February and from the UAE market. However, as both these countries have now moved to the Red List, we had to adjust our forecasts."
