Qatar Airways, the national carrier of the State of Qatar, is one of the fastest growing airlines operating one of the youngest fleets in the world. Qatar Airways participated in the Incredible India Tourism Investors’ Summit 2016 (IITIS) on 23 September to reaffirm its commitwards Iment tondia’s tourism market.
Qatar Airways Group Chief Executive, His Excellency Mr. Akbar Al Baker, was part of a CEO panel brought together to discuss ways to create and enable an environment for investment in the tourism sector and to overcome any obstacles to growth. The panel began with keynote addresses from Mr. Vinod Zutshi, Secretary, Ministry of Tourism and Mr. Ramesh Abhishek, Secretary, Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion – Government of India. Also present at the panel, among other noted industry experts were, Mr. Deepak Bagla, Managing Director & CEO of Invest India, Ms. Priya Paul, Chairperson of Apeejay Surrendra Park Hotels Ltd and Mr. Arun Nanda, Chairman CII Tourism & Hospitality Committee & Chairman Club Mahindra.
H.E. Mr. Al Baker said: “India is one of the world’s fastest growing economies, having tremendous business opportunities and huge potential, making it a significant market for Qatar Airways. The country continues to show strong economic growth and an increasing demand for airtravel to and from all corners of the globe. The aviation industry contributes significantly to India’s prosperous tourism sector and more liberal air service access is required for the tourism industry to develop even further.
“As a significant contributor to this ongoing development Qatar Airways will remain committed to providing award-winning service, superior on-board products and seamless connections to our expansive network. We currently operate from 13 of India’s cities with more than 100 weekly flights, and offer a premium travel experience with our warm hospitality, world-class service, exclusively tailored to meet travellers’ needs.”
IITIS is a platform for investors across the globe to explore investment opportunities available within India’s tourism sector as well as core supporting infrastructure. It also serves as a constructive forum for local investors to identify opportunities for technical collaboration and global partnerships. Qatar Airways, the national airline of the State of Qatar, was the only gulf carrier that participated in IITIS 2016 highlighting an unprecedented level of commitment to, and belief in, India’s tourism market.
During the event, H.E. Mr. Al Baker greeted the Minister of Finance and Corporate Affairs, Mr. Arun Jaitley, and also met with the Minister of State for Culture and Tourism, Dr. Mahesh Sharma, building upon the strong ties that already exist between Qatar Airways and India.
Qatar Airways operations to India cover daily services to Doha from Mumbai, Ahmedabad, Amritsar, Goa, Hyderabad, Kolkata, Kozhikode, Trivandrum, Chennai, Nagpur and Bengaluru, together with 11-flights-a-week from Cochin and double daily flights from Delhi.
Qatar Airways introduced 13 new destinations to its global network during fiscal 2016 further expanding the airline’s route network to more than 150 destinations in Europe, the Middle East, Africa, Asia-Pacific and the Americas.
Qatar Airways plans to launch several new destinations like Helsinki, Seychelles, Windheok and Auckland in the coming months, with services to Pisa, Adelaide, Yerevan and Atlanta having already started this year.
