The Qatari Hotels Association (QHA) signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Italian hoteliers association Federalberghi in Rome to promote tourism investments between the two countries, analyse and evaluate the regional and sectoral potentials for tourism with the aim of sustainable regional and economic development.
The agreement was signed by Chairman of the Qatari Hotels Association Sheikh Faisal bin Qassim Al Thani and Bernabe Boca, Chairman of Federalberghi which is the largest organization concerned with the hotel and tourism sector in Italy and includes 27,000 hotels as members.
The two parties agreed to engage in strategic dialogue for investment and partnership opportunities, and to strengthen economic ties and relations between the two countries and to continue promoting bilateral cooperation in the hotel sector between their members.
Commenting on the occasion, Sheikh Faisal bin Qassim Al Thani said the agreement is the first for the Qatari Hotels Association outside the State of Qatar and will be followed by other agreements, noting that Italy has been selected as one of the world’s leading destinations for tourism.
“With the World cup approaching, we need to seize the opportunity to promote our country Qatar as a touristic destination to attract international football fans and to introduce Qatars readiness for this global event, and as we previously emphasized, Qatar’s hotels are ready for the fans and tourists from the different continents,” he added.
For his part, Bernabe Boca stated that the Italian organization is a leading organization in the tourism and hospitality sector in his country, expressing his desire to cooperate with the Qatari hotels to enhance partnership with the Qatari market, stressing out that they have more than 27,000 hotels out of a total of about 33,000 hotels in Italy, through 131 regional associations.
He added that Federalberghi is also a founding member of the European Federation of Hotels and Restaurants, along with other international organizations.