QNCC on a growth path
Contributors are not employed, compensated or governed by TD, opinions and statements are from the contributor directly
Qatar National Convention Centre (QNCC) is looking to attract more international and regional events. Inn seven months, the convention centre has hosted 128 events, catering for more than 128,000 visitors.
The growth of the convention centre is backed by the strong country forecast. According to the World Travel and Tourism Council’s (WTTC) latest report, Qatar has one of the fastest growing tourism sectors in the world and is expected to post a 13% growth rate this year, which is four times the regional average.
As per QNCC’s director of business development, Trevor McCartney, “The award-winning Centre is a member of Qatar Foundation. The AEG Ogden-managed Centre had already exceeded its revenue target well before the end of the first year of operation, posting an estimated economic impact of US$19.956 million from overseas visitors. The centre is expected to generate an estimated economic impact of over QR200 million from two big events alone scheduled for later in the year,” he said.
As part of its drive to attract regional and international interest, QNCC has been actively targeting associations in Europe and the Middle East, targeting events from the healthcare, education, information technology and oil and gas sectors. The Centre has also been generating quite an interest for staging live events.
Two major conferences and exhibitions would be staged at QNCC toward the end of this year – the 25th Universal Postal Union Congress (UPU) and the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (referred to as COP 18/CMP 8).