UN Tourism Celebrates Excellence and Innovation at Qatar Tourism Awards
UN Tourism and Qatar Tourism have again joined to celebrate the best in innovation and excellence in service.
The second edition of the Qatar Tourism Awards welcomed around 1,200 applications from businesses and individuals working in the sector. The different categories and sub-categories were designed to reflect the diversity of Qatar's growing tourism sector. Between 2019 and 2024, international arrivals to Qatar grew by 147%, with the sector also a growing hub for tourism innovation and investments.
For 2024, the seven main categories featured at the Qatar Tourism Awards were:
- Service Excellence
- Gastronomic Experiences
- Iconic Attractions
- World-Class Events
- Digital Footprint
- Smart and Sustainable Tourism
- Community Leadership
Showcasing transformative power of tourism
Opening the ceremony, UN Tourism Executive Director Natalia Bayona said: These awards reaffirm the importance of businesses, entrepreneurs and influencers in the modern tourism landscape, both in Qatar and globally. It is imperative that we recognize and invest in the best talent and ideas in order to transform our sector. We will keep working together to strengthen our community of leaders.
The winners were chosen by a panel of judges, featuring leading experts in the field. Continuing its support, UN Tourism contributed by including one of its officials as an international expert in the selection process. Basmah Al Mayman, UN Tourism Regional Director for the Middle East, highlighted that the Awards are evolving into a significant brand that embodies Qatar's commitment to development in tourism. By recognizing outstanding achievements across various sectors, the Awards align with the key priorities of UN Tourism to promote tourism as a driver of economic growth and comprehensive development.
In his opening remarks, H.E. Saad Al Kharji, Chairman of Qatar Tourism, emphasized the vital role of UN Tourism in the success of this initiative. He reiterated the strong commitment of Qatar Tourism to delivering exceptional service and positioning Qatar as the fastest-growing tourism destination in the world. Finally, he encouraged all tourism stakeholders to apply for future editions, inviting them to play a part in shaping the future of tourism in Qatar.
About UN Tourism
The World Tourism Organization (UN Tourism) is the United Nations agency responsible for the promotion of responsible, sustainable and universally accessible tourism.
As the leading international organization in the field of tourism, UN Tourism promotes tourism as a driver of economic growth, inclusive development and environmental sustainability and offers leadership and support to the sector in advancing knowledge and tourism policies worldwide.
Our Priorities
Mainstreaming tourism in the global agenda: Advocating the value of tourism as a driver of socio-economic growth and development, its inclusion as a priority in national and international policies and the need to create a level playing field for the sector to develop and prosper.
Promoting sustainable tourism development: Supporting sustainable tourism policies and practices: policies which make optimal use of environmental resources, respect the socio-cultural authenticity of host communities and provide socio-economic benefits for all.
Fostering knowledge, education and capacity building: Supporting countries to assess and address their needs in education and training, as well as providing networks for knowledge creation and exchange.
Improving tourism competitiveness: Improving UN Tourism Members' competitiveness through knowledge creation and exchange, human resources development and the promotion of excellence in areas such as policy planning, statistics and market trends, sustainable tourism development, marketing and promotion, product development and risk and crisis management.
Advancing tourism's contribution to poverty reduction and development: Maximizing the contribution of tourism to poverty reduction and achieving the SDGs by making tourism work as a tool for development and promoting the inclusion of tourism in the development agenda.
Building partnerships: Engaging with the private sector, regional and local tourism organizations, academia and research institutions, civil society and the UN system to build a more sustainable, responsible and competitive tourism sector.
Our Structure
Members: An intergovernmental organization, UN Tourism has 160 Member States, 6 Associate Members, 2 Observers and over 500 Affiliate Members.
Organs: The General Assembly is the supreme organ of the Organization. The Executive Council take all measures, in consultation with the Secretary-General, for the implementation of the decisions and recommendations of the General Assembly and reports to the Assembly.
Secretariat: UN Tourism headquarters are based in Madrid, Spain. The Secretariat is led by the Secretary-General and organized into departments covering issues such as sustainability, education, tourism trends and marketing, sustainable development, statistics and the Tourism Satellite Account (TSA), destination management, ethics and risk and crisis management. The Technical Cooperation and Silk Road Department carries out development projects in over 100 countries worldwide, while the Regional Departments for Africa, the Americas, Asia and the Pacific, Europe and the Middle East serve as the link between UN Tourism and its 160 Member States. The Affiliate Members Department represents UN Tourism's 500 plus Affiliate members.
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