The Qatar Tourism Authority (QTA) this week released its report on the performance of the tourism sector in Qatar during the first quarter of 2012 refelcting the average number of GCC visitors to Doha which saw a 22% growth. The report also revealed there are currently 112 hotels. This will bring Qatar s hotel rooms and serviced apartment stock to 16,922 offered by 85 hotel facilities with a capacity of 15,025 rooms and 27 apartment hotels with 1,897 units.

According to...

Qatar Development Bank and International Finance Corporation, part of the World Bank Group, held a three-day training programme for Al Dhameen partner banks and financial institutions to assess potential benefits of targeting the small and medium enterprise (SME) sector and help them build and expand their SME business offerings.
The training programme followed the recent launch of SME toolkit by QDB in collaboration with the IFC.

The training programme provided...

A recent conference saw government, political and institutional organisations, entrepreneurs and industrial SME owners discuss challenges, solutions and action plans for facilitating access to government and semi-government projects’ procurement.
Enterprise Qatar, a SME incubation and support centre, organised the workshop, which was held under the patronage of HE Sheikh Jassim bin Abdulaziz bin Jassim bin Hamad al-Thani, Minister of Business and Commerce, and paved...

Leaders of Qatar, Bulgaria and Turkey agreed Friday to study joint infrastructure projects like the construction of a new motorway from Istanbul across Bulgaria.

"We discussed possible partnerships between the three countries to develop infrastructure projects together," the Prime Minister of cash-rich Qatar, Sheikh Hamad bin Jassem al-Thani, said.

On the second day of a visit to Bulgaria, al-Thani met near Varna with his Turkish and Bulgarian counterparts, Recep...

The 12th Doha Forum and Enriching the Middle East's Economic Future Conference are set to open Sunday at the Doha Sheraton Hotel from May 20-22. Organized by Qatar's Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the conference draws an eclectic list of distinguished invitees from across the Middle East, Europe, Asia, and the Americas to work together on solutions to some of the pressing issues facing the region.

The Forum will offer a sweeping overview of issues regarding Democracy, Development and Free Trade in the Middle-East, the Arab countries and the world. More broadly, this international meeting...

Doha Festival City, the regional QAR 6 billion entertainment, retail and hospitality destination, has made significant progress and is on target for scheduled completion of the first phase following its ground breaking in October 2011. Set to become a driving force behind Qatar's diverse economic development and covering a total area of 433,847sqm, Doha Festival City will have over 260,000sqm of Gross Leasable Area accommodating entertainment and leisure facilities, supermarkets, cinemas, hotels and conference facilities.

IKEA's flagship store is the first piece of Doha Festival City's...