Sharjah Commerce and Tourism Development Authority (SCTDA) said that it will organize the sixth edition of the Sharjah Hospitality Forum on November 18 at Al Jawaher Reception and Convention Centre in Sharjah.

Being held under the patronage of HH Sheikh Sultan bin Mohammed bin Sultan Al Qasimi, Crown Prince and Deputy Ruler of Sharjah and chairman of the Sharjah Executive Council, the forum aims to provide the tourism sector with the global industry expertise and knowledge needed to achieve future growth, thereby enabling the sector to keep pace with global sustainable goals.

A series of interactive sessions conducted by local and global experts on the importance of sustainable tourism in supporting businesses and ways to enhance the sustainable growth of the travel and tourism sector will be featured.

Khalid Jasim Al Midfa, chairman of SCTDA, said: “We are keen to organize the sixth edition of the Hospitality Forum, bringing together an even larger group of experts and pioneers of the tourism, hospitality and travel sector.”

“The annual event has been designed to enhance the efforts of all tourism industry stakeholders in the Emirate of Sharjah, with an aim to further improve the standards of tourism services offered by the emirate and to enhance the overall tourism experience for visitors and tourists alike. The initiative forms an integral part of our efforts to strengthen Sharjah’s position in the global tourism landscape, in line with the objectives of Sharjah Tourism Vision 2021.”

“The forum comes at a time when Sharjah continues to attract a large number of visitors and tourists throughout the year due to the diversity of its tourism product and attractions. Needless to say, the surge in visitor spending makes a highly positive economic impact, encouraging companies and entities working in the sector to intensify their efforts to develop and invest in tourism infrastructure to support the national economy.

“Furthermore, it motivates them to work towards launching innovative services that enrich the tourism experience and serve the sector’s partners, stakeholders and businessmen. This year's forum, themed ‘Sustainable Tourism creates Business Opportunities’, will highlight the importance of consolidating the concept of sustainability in the tourism sector, in addition to discussing the developments of the sector under the umbrella of sustainable development to support local and global tourism.” H.E added.

“Thanks to the rapid growth of the tourism sector in the emirate, the sector now contributes more than 8.8 per cent or more than Dh9 billion to the emirate's annual GDP of Dh102.5 billion. This reflects the importance of the sector as one of the most important contributors to strengthening the national economy in general.

“Through the hosting of the latest edition of the Forum, we seek to strengthen bridges of cooperation among the hospitality sector stakeholders, in order to chalk out development strategies required to enhance the emirate’s tourism sector and to ensure its sustainable development,” Al Midfa concluded. – TradeArabia News Service