Monday 15 February 2016

QATAR: Specialised Incubator For Tourism Startups

Abdulaziz Al Khalifa (right), QBIC Chairman and QDB CEO, and Hassan Al Ibrahim, Chief Tourism Development Officer at QTA at the event.
Qatar Business Incubation Centre (QBIC) in collaboration with Qatar Tourism Authority (QTA) yesterday officially launched ‘QBIC Tourism’, country’s first specialised incubator for tourism startups, following a soft-launch period that witnessed the incubation of nine startups in the field of tourism.

QBIC Tourism, guided by QTA, is a specialised incubator that enables entrepreneurs to develop products and services that enhance the Qatar tourism experience, by providing them with unique business development tools and access to insight and guidance from QTA decision-makers.

During incubation, potential tourism entrepreneurs can develop and expand their business ideas within any of the four main sectors of tourism activity that have been identified as priorities for Qatar namely: business events, urban and family entertainment, sports and recreation, and culture and heritage products.

The event took place at the Head Office of QBIC, one of the largest mixed-use business incubators in the Mena region, and was attended by Abdulaziz Al Khalifa, QBIC Chairman and QDB CEO, and Hassan Al Ibrahim, Chief Tourism Development Officer at QTA.

Al Khalifa said: “Startups and small businesses are the foundation of a thriving, diversified economy. A central tenet for QBIC is to be continually strengthening our startup culture in Qatar, not only by providing the support and space that every business needs, but by partnering for specific excellence and cutting-edge opportunity within prominent industries – the new launch of QBIC Tourism by QBIC in partnership with QTA is a superb example of this principle in action. We believe that backing start-ups and scale-ups now will help produce a mature and sustainable tourism sector in the near and medium term.”

No comments: