SCTDA wins ‘Most Outstanding Booth’ Award at Beijing International Tourism Expo 2009
Date Published: Tuesday, June 23, 2009
For immediate release
Sharjah, 21 June 2009
The Sharjah Commerce and Tourism Development Authority (SCTDA) has won the ‘Most Outstanding Booth’ Award at the prestigious Beijing International Tourism Expo 2009 (BITE), held from 18 to 20 June 2009 at the Beijing Exhibition Center, beating out the 800 exhibition participants, representing over 90 countries.
The jury’s final decision was based on the evaluation of the show’s organizing committee, following a number of studies and assessments it conducted in coordination with the Chinese Tourism Authority.
SCTDA representatives received the trophy at the award presentation ceremony, which was attended by the Director General of the Chinese Tourism Authority, the General Organizer of the Exhibition, senior officials, other exhibitors and international media.
Commenting on the occasion, H.E. Mr Mohamed Ali Al Noman, Director General of the SCTDA, said, “This award recognises the SCTDA’s outstanding efforts to promote the emirate of Sharjah in a variety of local, regional and international domains. It is a mark of success for the emirate’s new identity, which has performed superbly at the international level.”
“This award marks a new milestone in our series of achievements and will serve as added motivation for us to continue our tireless efforts to maintain and boost Sharjah’s prominent spot on the world’s tourism map. It is our consistent commitment to maintain this momentum, under the guidance of H.H. Sheikh Dr Sultan bin Mohammed Al Qassimi, Supreme Council Member and Ruler of Sharjah,” he continued.
Al Noman added, “Last year, Sharjah attracted more than 10,000 tourists from China. This was our second participation at BITE and we are extremely optimistic about the openness of China’s tourism and commercial markets and the opportunities that exist to attract even more Chinese tourists to Sharjah, contributing to the ultimate realisation of the ambitious goals we have set for the next five years.”
“This is the second award for Sharjah this year, the first being the award for ‘Best Middle Eastern Exhibitor’ which we received at ITB 2009 - the world’s largest tourism event - in the first quarter of this year.”
Al Noman said that the SCTDA expected a 10 percent growth in the number of Chinese tourists visiting Sharjah this year. He stated that the SCTDA’s participations at major international exhibitions are playing a significant role in increasing tourist influx into the emirate, thanks to the Authority’s efforts to highlight the tourist attractions in the emirate to international markets. “Asian tourists accounted for 21 percent of the total number of visitors to the emirate in 2008,” he said.
In addition to SCTDA representatives, the Sharjah delegation to BITE 2009 included representatives from Radisson Blu Resort Sharjah, Coral Beach Resort, Golden Tulip Hotel and Sharjah Airport Travel Agency.
SCTDA’s primary objectives at this travel and tourism event were to sustain the development of tourism in Sharjah by enhancing its position in the international tourism market and diversifying its sources of tourists, and to benefit from the huge potential of the Chinese market, which has more than 20 million tourists a year, a figure that is expected to increase to 100 million by 2020.
As part of its outstanding efforts to achieve a significant impact in Beijing, in terms of both content and form, the SCTDA exhibited on an eye-catching stand, where the Authority distributed several publications to visitors in both English and Chinese, providing them with updated information and news about the emirate of Sharjah.