By Isabel Ovalle
DOHA: A delegation from the Spanish Tourist Office (Turespaña) will be travelling to Doha before the end of the year to promote key tourist destinations, such as Andalucía, Barcelona and Madrid, in Qatar. The company which represents Turespaña in Qatar (also in UAE, Saudi Arabia and Kuwait), Bluelink, will contact the travel agencies that sell a higher number of trips to Spain or have more potential.
According to Rocio Ochoa, representative to the region for the Spanish Tourist Office, introducing Spain to local travel agencies and personnel in charge of selling this destination is already having very positive results in Abu Dhabi, Dubai and Kuwait.
The Spanish Tourist Office has noted that Qatar is a promising market and is working to attract more visitors, given that interest for Spain has grown and the number of direct flights from Doha to Madrid and Barcelona has increased.
In this context, added Ochoa, “we hope that the interest in Spain will grow even more in the years to come”.
Spain also participates in the Arabian Travel Market every year and has the support of the Spanish Business Council, the Spanish Embassy, Spanish Speaking Ladies Group and Spanish Ladies in Qatar for their activities in Doha.
The initiative that will take place in the last trimester of the year completes others launched from the Spanish tourism office, such as the familiarisation trip for travel agencies from Doha to Spain. This trip took place from 14th to 19th March 2012 with visits to Spain’s most emblematic cities, Madrid and Barcelona.
Also in March, promotional material was sent for the Latin-American Fair organised by Qatar Foundation, where Spain had four stands. The Spanish Embassy received a diploma for the participation in the event, attended by 1,500 people.
Activities to promote Spain in Qatar go back to 2011 and 2010. In 2011 a gastronomic week was held in the Ritz-Carlton Hotel and tourism professionals from Andalucía, Madrid and Catalonia travelled to Doha to brief local travel agents about Spain.
The year before, with the collaboration of Qatar Airways, 30 professionals from Spain came to Qatar to participate in a workshop with local agents.
The Peninsula
