An MoU being signed in the presence of Governor of the City of St. Petersburg, Alexander Beglov, between QNTC Secretary-General and Qatar Airways Chief Executive Akbar Al Baker and Vice-Governor of the City of St Petersburg, Maksim Yuryevich Sokolov.
Doha: Qatar National Tourism Council (QNTC) returned from the 24th edition of St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF) after signing a series of partnerships.
As guest country, the Qatar National Pavilion showcased Qatar’s offerings to investors, boasting one of the largest business delegations to the premiere investment event. Held from 2-5 June, QNTC hosted events with key players in the Russian tourism industry, strengthening ties with key players in the country.
Chief Operation Officer at Qatar National Tourism Council (QNTC), Berthold Trenkel, said: “We are very pleased with the agreements concluded at SPIEF. Together with our stakeholders, QNTC showcased our destination’s offerings at the Qatar Pavilion. As part of our strategy to increase Qatar’s visibility on the global front, our participation at such events opens new avenues for QNTC to strengthen ties with Russia, one of our priority markets.”
QNTC signed an agreement with leading tour operator TUI, introducing direct charter flights between Moscow and Doha, from October 2021 to May 2022.
An MoU was signed between QNTC and the City of St Petersburg to grow tourism between the State of Qatar and the Russian city of St Petersburg. The MoU was signed in the presence of H E Alexander Beglov, Governor of the City of St. Petersburg, between QNTC Secretary-General and Qatar Airways Chief Executive H E Akbar Al Baker, and Maksim Yuryevich Sokolov, Vice-Governor of the City of St. Petersburg.
As part of the agreement, QNTC and the City of St Petersburg expressed their joint intention to promote the development of organised group travel, and provide advice, information and legal support to facilitate participation in international tourism exhibitions.
QNTC ended the Forum with an exclusive event for the Russian travel trade industry. Held at the Ritz Carlton Hotel Moscow, there were more than 70 representatives of Russian tour operators, top travel executives and media in attendance.
Following the closure of its borders in March 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Qatar has been at the forefront of the biosafety movement within the tourism industry and has recently reopened its borders for fully vaccinated residents from the GCC region.
Ahead of Qatar reopening its borders to both Russian and other travellers, the country continues with its successful vaccination programme that has, as of June 7th 2021, seen 66.6% of the population aged 16 and above receive at least one vaccination, as well as the roll-out of its best-in-class ‘Qatar Clean’ programme.
