Tourism & Hospitality | Friday 21 October, 2016 1:18 am |

 The 360° Hospitality and HORECA (Hotels, Restaurants, Cafes) show of Qatar, Hospitality Qatar 2016, successfully came to a close at the Doha Exhibition and Convention Centre (DECC) on Thursday, October 20.

Over the course of three days, Hospitality Qatar 2016, organized by IFP Qatar and licensed by the Qatar Tourism Authority (QTA), confirmed its position as the leading Hospitality and HORECA show in the Middle East region after having surpassed all expectations delivering a high-end exhibition and recording satisfaction levels and positive feedback by all the show’s stakeholders.

 

The show, representing the ideal platform for all local, regional and international HORECA suppliers to meet with hospitality professionals from the entire region, attracted more exhibitors and higher levels of participation by welcoming thousands of visitors and official VIP delegations from over 10 participating countries.

 

Hospitality Qatar 2016 provided the ideal platform for suppliers to showcase their products to hoteliers, HORECA professionals and buyers from other parts of the hospitality sector. The organizers implemented new technology this year to make it even easier for buyers to meet sellers.

 

Among the major highlights in this edition was the presence, Hospitality Qatar 2016 provided its participants with an interactive Business-to-Business (B2B) matchmaking platform. The matchmaking app saw high utilization this year with hundreds of meetings held over the course of 3 days, attracting a large number of decision makers, procurement directors, franchise operators, and consultants to network and create new business opportunities with hotel and retail investors, hotel managers and owners, restaurants managers, bar managers as well as HORECA operators through a set of pre-arranged meetings.

 

The event this year also included a number of features including a Mocktail Competition, a series of workshops covering current hot industry topics and Salon Culinaire, organized by Qatar Culinary Professionals. Being one of the most popular draws of the exposition, Salon Culinaire attracted a large number of participants who gathered to benefit from the opportunity to check the latest cooking styles, trends and innovations.

 

Commenting on the success that Hospitality Qatar 2016 achieved, George Ayache, General Manager at IFP Qatar LLC, said: “Hospitality Qatar 2016 attracted this year a huge number of professionals and decision makers from around the world, eager to network and explore the most state-of-art technologies in the hospitality industry. The event has established itself this year its role as the leading hospitality platform in by providing exhibitors and visitors with the latest insights and trends of the industry.”

 

As for its company’s participation at Hospitality Qatar 2016, Khaled M. Al-Buainain, Owner and President of FITCO Holding said: “We are participating at this exhibition to showcase a large number of products and services which FITCO for cleaning products provide. The exhibition is amazing, and we have noticed a regional and international participation. This is an ideal opportunity to meet with some institutions, network with agents and explore new products.”

 

In the same context, Iyad G. Sabbarini, General Manager of Nespresso in Qatar commented on the show this year: “We consider our participation at Hospitality Qatar highly effective. We are participating for the second year in a row, and we have noticed many companies interested in participating at this exhibition and we are interested in strengthening our position in the Qatari market.”

 

Also included in the Salon Culinaire, the Mocktail competition, sponsored by Lamborghini Luxury Energy Drink, was judged by professionals in the field, following which, the top three winners were crowned as the best Mocktail makers in Qatar.

 

Commenting on the impact of her company’s participation at Hospitality Qatar 2016, Stephanie Chahabian, Brand Strategist at Tonino Lamborghini said: “Hospitality Qatar has been a guarantee for us since last year. We are participating for the second year and since last year we were very happy with the result so we were definitely going to participate again.” 

 

Imad Askar, Director of Operations at ASKAR Industries noted: “We were in partnership with Hospitality Qatar, sponsoring the Salon Culinaire. It is great to see the chefs competing and raising the caliber of their culinary arts in Doha. More exhibitors in the field are participating in the show and it is great that every year the show is achieving additional progress so we are looking forward to more years of Hospitality Qatar.”

 

Hospitality Qatar 2016 has firmly positioned itself as the only major hospitality exposition in Qatar that welcomes thousands of professionals from all aspects of the Hotel, Restaurant and Cafe food, supply, design and investment Industries. Evidenced by the number of exhibitors, attendees, and users of its B2B Matchmaking business platform, Hospitality Qatar 2016 has cemented its place in Qatar’s burgeoning Hotel and Hospitality sectors and throughout the entire MENA region.