· Over 30 experts participate in high-level design thinking session on protecting the benefits of tourism in a multilateral world and developed actionable proposals
· QNTC Secretary General and UNWTO Secretary-General participate in the Plenary Session: Protecting the Benefits of Tourism in a Multilateral World
· UNWTO, QNTC and IE University launch of first Online Certificate Program
The World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) and Qatar National Tourism Council (QNTC) co-organized a high-level design thinking session on the heels of the Doha Forum, a global platform that promotes the interchange of ideas, discourse, policy making, and action-oriented dialogue.
This session brought together over 30 relevant experts from the public and private sectors, including international and non-profit organizations, funding agencies, entrepreneurs, and research and innovation centers. Discussions focused on generating innovative, actionable proposals and establishing commitments for continued collaboration and implementation. HRH Princess Dana Firas of Jordan joined the afternoon session of the workshop to provide feedback on the generated projects during presentations.
The proposals included initiatives to empower local communities, make travel accessible for all, provide educational opportunities in the tourism field, as well as develop ecologically sustainable models.
The design thinking session followed on the participation of UNWTO Secretary-General, Mr. Zurab Pololikashvili, and QNTC Secretary General and GCEO of Qatar Airways, H.E. Mr. Akbar Al Baker, in the Doha Forum Plenary Session: Protecting the Benefits of Tourism in a Multilateral World, which convened state leaders to explore what can be done through collaboration to reduce the negative impacts of conflict on travel and tourism and to bolster tourism as a driver of peace.
H.E. Mr. Akbar Al Baker, Secretary General of QNTC and GCEO of Qatar Airways, remarked “Tourism is an important sector not only in terms of tangible economic impact, but also for building bridges of understanding between peoples and changing deeply-rooted misperceptions. We are proud of the role tourism and aviation have played in creating more awareness and understanding of our country, and of the policy of openness which has made us the most welcoming country in the Middle East.”
He added, “We are pleased to see the dialogue on tourism take its rightful place on the global agenda, and to share these important insights from the Middle East with our counterparts around the world through the wide-reaching Doha Forum platform.”
H.E. Zurab Pololikashvili UNWTO Secretary General spoke of how “Education is one of my main priorities. Thanks to the Tourism Online Academy, a joint initiative between UNWTO and IE University, we would have the opportunity to train, democratize and scale the way people are educated regarding the tourism sector. Our vision is to provide global opportunities to people who are interested in the tourism sector and address the gap between jobs, skills and education.”
In the spirit of global tourism solutions, QNTC recently became the Destination Partner of the UNWTO Tourism Online Academy, the first initiative supported by the United Nations that aims to democratize and professionalize tourism education and capacity building. Since the launch of the first Massive Open Online Course (MOOC) in November, the platform is already shaping the minds of over 1500 tourism professionals.
Today, UNWTO proudly presents the first Online Certificate Program by First Academic Partner IE University, focused on the Fundamentals of Tourism-Industry Management.
For more information about the UNWTO Tourism Online Academy and access to the MOOC and Online Certificate Programme go to https://www.unwto-tourismacademy.ie.edu/
For media-related inquiries, please contact QNTC’s Press Office on:
+974 4499 7882 or +974 3392 4466 | pressoffice@visitqatar.qa
About UNWTO
The World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) is the United Nations agency responsible for the promotion of responsible, sustainable and universally accessible tourism.
As the leading international organization in the field of tourism, UNWTO promotes tourism as a driver of economic growth, inclusive development and environmental sustainability and offers leadership and support to the sector in advancing knowledge and tourism policies worldwide.
About Qatar National Tourism Council (QNTC)
Qatar National Tourism Council’s mission is to firmly establish Qatar on the global map as a place where cultural authenticity meets modernity, and where people of the world come together to experience unique offerings in culture, sports, business and family entertainment.
QNTC’s work is guided by the Qatar National Tourism Sector Strategy (QNTSS), which seeks to diversify the country’s tourism offering and increase the sector’s contribution to Qatar’s economy by 2030. In 2017, the Next Chapter of QNTSS was launched, charting the next five years (2018-2023) of the tourism sector’s growth.
In 2018, QNTC launched a global destination campaign under the tagline 'Qatar, Qurated for you.' Curating requires professional or expert knowledge to select, organise and present unique experiences. As such, the Qurated campaign plays on the word's definition and the destination brand's iconic Q to underscore the country's focus on delivering tailored visitor-centric experiences.
Since launching QNTSS, Qatar has welcomed over 12 million visitors. The economic impact of the tourism sector in Qatar is becoming increasingly visible with 2017 estimates showing a total (direct and indirect) contribution to Qatar’s GDP of 6.6%.
