Turkish Ambassador to Qatar Dr. Mustafa Göksu (left), and Italy’s Ambassador Alessandro Prunas speaking to media in Doha, yesterday.
Turkey and Italy are eyeing new opportunities in Qatar’s hospitality industry, which is also said to be the country’s fastest growing sector to date.
Speaking to the media on the sidelines of a press conference to announce the upcoming Hospitality Qatar 2021 yesterday, Turkish Ambassador to Qatar H E Dr. Mustafa Göksu said, Turkish companies are currently targeting to supply hotel textile products to the growing number of hotels being constructed in Qatar, and in the region.
“We have hospitality companies, especially in the hotel textile sector, and we’d like to get big orders for hotel fit out services and other hotel requirements. Especially because there are many new hotels under construction in Qatar, as well as in the region,” the Turkish Ambassador said.
Now in its 6th edition, Hospitality Qatar 2021 will be held under the patronage of the Minister of Commerce and Industry H E Sheikh Mohammed bin Hamad bin Qassim Al Abdullah Al Thani from November 8-11 at the Doha Exhibition and Convention Center. More than 170 exhibitors from over 30 countries will participate in the expo, which is organised by the IFP Qatar in partnership with the Qatar Tourism and the support of Qatar Airways.
“Turkey is participating in Hospitality Qatar 2021 with the largest international pavilion led by the Turkish Ministry of Trade as a testament of the strong trade relations between Turkey and Qatar. Turkey has a long and comprehensive experience in tourism and hospitality as one of the top tourist destinations in the world, and we leverage this to support Qatar’s hospitality sector ahead of the FIFA World Cup,” Göksu added.
The Turkish Ambassador added that bilateral trade between Qatar and Turkey has now surpassed $1bn, and added that the trade volume is expected to exceed $1.5bn next year. The Ambassador has also previously stated Turkey’s long-term plan to increase bilateral trade between both countries to $5bn.
Speaking about Italian companies planning to enter Qatar’s hospitality sector, Italy’s Ambassador to Qatar H E Alessandro Prunas said: “Italy’s participation in this edition of Hospitality Qatar will be marked with our own national pavilion led by the Italian Trade Agency (ITA). Italy has been participating in the event for successive years to further promote the importance of the hospitality sector in Qatar for Italian companies, and to unlock more opportunities for further development in this sector through exchange of experiences and technologies”.
During the event, Prunas reiterated the growth of Qatar’s hospitality sector as well as its strong recovery from the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, and added that businesses in Qatar are now operating back to normal.
To date, Italy is Qatar’s sixth largest trade supplier, added ITA Trade Commissioner Augusta Smargiassi.
She said Qatar’s imports from Italy during the first nine months of 2021 increased by 26 percent to €853m, compared to the same period last year. Qatar’s agri-food imports from Italy, which is also used in the country’s hospitality sector, grew by 1.2 percent to €34m, she said. It may be noted that Qatar, Italy’s bilateral trade reached €1.2bn during the first half of 2021.
