DOHA: Qatar further cements its position as a world-class hub and an emerging business and sports tourism destination with a rich line-up of international conferences, exhibitions and sporting events to be held next year.
A total of 165 expos, national events, conferences and sports tournaments are set to be organised next year, according to Qatar’s calendar of events which was recently released, compared to close to 100 events for year 2012. With a total of 41 exhibitions in various sectors, the country will see a very busy year 2013. Some of the big exhibitions scheduled for the first quarter according to the Qatar Tourism Authority (QTA) are the Doha Trade Fair, the 10th Doha, Jewellery and Watches Exhibition and Qatar International Automobiles Show.
Other big expos to watch out for are Project Qatar, the International Wedding Exhibition, Doha Transportation and Railways Exhibition and Doha Natural Gas Exhibition. An Entertainment City which will open before year end which will run for two months is also one of the highlights of the fun events to be organised by the QTA.
In terms of conferences, the Eighth World Congress of Chambers of Commerce, the International Convention for the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, Second World Conference of High-level Geospatial Information, WISE Summit and Doha Forum XIII are some of the 55 conferences to be organised next year.
Year 2013 also marks inaugural conferences including the First Scientific Conference on Internal Medicine, First Qatar Kidney Conference and First Qatar Orthodontic Conference.
Various sports federations have also lined up their own events for the year further boosting sports tourism and reasserting the country’s role as an internationally recognised sporting hub. A total of 50 sports tournaments and sports related events will be held next year.
Sports highlights include AFC Football Festival, the 10th International Men’s Fencing Grand Prix, 5th Men & Women Artistic Gymnastics World Cup, Nine-Ball International Billiard Championship and Asian Men and Women Weightlifting Championships. Qatar Women’s Sports Committee is also hosting the First GCC Women’s Handball Championship in September.
More than 20 national and international celebrations to be observed during the year are expected to add more vibrancy in the coming year.
The Peninsula
