Sharjah Tourism on major Europe road show

SHARJAH- To fulfill the 2020 strategy, and promote Sharjah in major regional and global markets, Sharjah Commerce and Tourism Development Authority Sharjah Commerce Tourism has unveiled a massive road show across major European cities along with a number of tourism and hospitality sector partners from May 19 to May 23. The first part of the European road show includes Austria, Germany and Switzerland, assisted by the European overseas office.

HE Mohamed Ali Al Noman, Chairman of the Sharjah Commerce and Tourism Development Authority emphasized the importance of the European road show at a time when travel companies are finalizing their product portfolios for 2015. Mr Al Noman, is confident that the promotional tour will contribute to the successful promotion of the Emirate in these significant markets.

Al Noman pointed out that Europe is a major outbound tourist market for Sharjah that still has potential for growth as evidenced in this year’s figures, with more than 250,000 European tourists during the first quarter of the current year which shows an increase of 22 per cent over the same period last year.

Al Noman emphasized that this year there is so much to promote Sharjah, with 2014 being the Capital of Islamic Culture and 2015, Sharjah is recognized as the Capital of Arab Tourism it is particularly important to ensure the world hears this message.  The European road show is part of the Authority’s strategy for the current year to proactively promote Sharjah’s tourism experience with its distinct cultural heritage, particularly at a time when the Emirate is marking its crowning with so many world accolades. He expressed his hopes that this campaign would open new markets in Switzerland for Sharjah.

The Europe road show begins on May 19 with Austria’s historic capital Vienna being the first stop on the tour.  Followed by stops in Germany, every day of the tour includes workshops and interactive meetings with industry representatives. The road show finishes in the scenic Swiss city of Geneva on May 23.

The Sharjah road show will include workshops and meetings with leading government and private sector players, investors and market leaders and representatives of the travel and tourism industry from the continent.

SCTDA organizes a number of promotional tours throughout the year in major capitals and cities of the Gulf and European countries.  The Authority concluded a successful road show in April that included Kuwait and Saudi Arabia. In months ahead, more Gulf cities will be visited as part of the itinerary. The Authority has had outstanding promotional tours in the Middle East, Europe and America in recent years.