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More than 20 international speakers lined up for World Tourism Day 2017

Published: 26 Sep 2017 - 03:33 pm | Last Updated: 06 Nov 2021 - 06:45 pm
Peninsula

The Peninsula

Organisers of the official celebration for World Tourism Day (WTD) 2017 have confirmed that a large number of high-level regional and international officials are set to participate in the day’s event being hosted in Doha, Qatar.

Held under the theme ‘Sustainable Tourism – a Tool for Development,’ the Day will bring together representatives from tourism authorities and ministries around the world to explore tourism’s contribution to countries’ long-term development and sustainable growth.

Over 20 international speakers are lined up to speak at the event including Taleb Rifai, Secretary-General of the World Tourism Organization (UNWTO); Edmund Bartlett, Minister of Tourism of Jamaica; Frano Matušić, State Secretary, Ministry of Tourism of Croatia; Eugene Lenn Nagbe, Minister of Information, Culture and Tourism of Liberia; Avedis Guidanian, Minister of Tourism of Lebanon; Selma Elloumi Rekik, Minister of Tourism and Handicrafts of Tunisia; Anna Paolini, Director of the UNESCO Office in Doha; representatives of the Indonesian Tourism Ministry; Fernando Olivera, Minister of the State of Guanajuato, Mexico. CNN International’s Max Foster will moderate the day’s panel discussions and a number of senior Qatari officials are also confirmed to speak at the full-day event being held at the Sheraton Grand Doha Resort & Convention Hotel.

Hassan Al Ibrahim, Chief Tourism Development Officer at QTA, commented on the occasion saying, “We are very pleased to be welcoming such a large number of regional and international industry partners and prominent speakers to gather in Doha on the occasion of WTD. We look forward to the opportunity to benefit from other countries’ experiences as we continue on our journey to develop Qatar’s tourism sector.”

As speakers and guests have already started arriving in Doha, final preparations are being made for hosting the WTD official celebrations on the 27th. The event will be held under the patronage of H E Sheikh Abdullah bin Nasser bin Khalifa Al Thani, the Prime Minister and Minister of Interior of Qatar.

The WTD celebration will also witness the launch of the Next Chapter of the Qatar National Tourism Sector Strategy 2030 which aims to diversify tourism products, of services and visitor source markets for the sustainable growth of the sector.