DOHA - The tourism industry’s recovery, world public health issues, new ways of doing tourism business, and new economic trends in the tourism industry will be high on the agenda when the world’s tourism leaders arrive in Qatar for the Fourth Global Tourism and Travel Summit in May.
More than 500 chief executive officers, general managers and directors of the world’s leading and largest tourism companies and government ministers will attend the Global Summit in Doha from May 1-3, that is being hosted by Qatar Airways.
Qatar Airways Chief Executive Officer Mr Akbar Al Baker said today that the Summit agenda was designed to encourage lively discussion amongst the leaders of the travel industry in order to drive change, as the industry recovers from recent international events.
“The Global Summit will provide the forum for some of the most influential people in the tourism industry to discuss priorities for change within the industry,” said Mr Al Baker.
“This forum is designed to be a forum that will set a road map for recovery.
“The Summit format will allow for a set of interactive debates which will be moderated by internationally renowned journalists and presenters like the BBC’s Nik Gowing and the NBC’s Peter Greenberg,” said Mr Al Baker.
The World Travel and Tourism Council’s President Mr Jean-Claude Baumgarten said: “Our intention is to inject dynamism and spontaneity in to all the issues.
“However, more than that we want the outcome of the Fourth Global Travel and Tourism Summit to be an expression of what the industry considers to be the main challenges it faces and a consensus view on the changes that will be required to nuture the green shoots of recovery in 2004,” said Mr Baumgarten.
Mr Baugarten said that the major questions that will be debated include:
- What are the latest global trends and what impact will they have?
- What are the best strategies for the changing environment?
- What are the main challenges faced by governments and how will they be met?
- What can be done on an industry level to improve customer experiences?
- In the face of bad news, how do we prevent unnecessary panic?
To review the full details of the Summit program, please go to http://www.globaltraveltourism.com
Doha-based Qatar Airways will operate a fleet of 110 aircraft by 2013 – almost double the existing size. Qatar Airways has ordered 80 Airbus A350s, 60 Boeing 787s and 32 Boeing 777s, with deliveries of the latter having started in November 2007. The airline is a launch customer of the twin-deck Airbus A380 ‘super jumbos’ with five aircraft on order and scheduled for delivery from 2010. Qatar Airways moves to the New Doha International Airport in 2010, when the first phase of the new facility opens. For more information, visit www.ndiaproject.com
Qatar Airways is one of only six airlines in the world with a Five Star ranking for service and excellence awarded by Skytrax, the independent aviation industry monitoring agency. Skytrax also named Qatar Airways’ cabin crew as Best in the Middle East for the fifth year running in 2007 following a survey of more than 15 million passengers worldwide. For more information, log onto www.qatarairways.com
Qatar Airways Corporate Communications
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E-mail: qrmedia@qatarairways.com.qa