Rashed al-Qurese
12:31 AM
10
December
2013
By Joey Aguilar/Staff Reporter
Qatar Tourism Authority (QTA) yesterday announced the launch of its new online platform, Qatar Events Diary - OnQatar, a one-stop-shop for information on all events and activities in the country.
OnQatar will be available through multiple channels such as a website, mobile phone application, social media as well as the news media.
Rashed al-Qurese, director of Marketing and Promotions at QTA, told reporters that the Qatar Events Diary website - www.onqatar.qa - will be the official tourism information portal of the country. Its main page features moving photographs and details of events happening all year round.
The bilingual website will benefit the general public as well as event organisers/promoters, helping the latter plan their events better and avoid any conflict of schedules. It is also expected to give them good marketing opportunities.
“We often find four or five big events happening on the same day. We think this project indirectly provides a scheduling opportunity for event organisers and promoters,” al-Qurese stressed during a press briefing.
He admitted that there had been uneven distribution and overlapping of similar events in the past. This also involved lack of awareness among the organisers and the general public.
With an interactive website in place, various expatriate communities in Doha can also submit and post their schedule of activities.
QTA has categorised these events into art & culture, business, education, fashion, food, entertainment, healthcare, charity & religion and sports.
Residents and tourists can also help promote activities posted on the website by sharing them via social media sites such as Facebook, Twitter and Instagram, thereby keeping the public well-informed.
With an increasing number of smartphone users, QTA has also launched the OnQatar Arabic-English mobile application. It can be downloaded on all iOS and Android-enabled mobile devices.
The new app helps people locate the exact venue of events besides guiding them on how to take part in various celebrations. It also contains additional information on bookings and where to buy tickets.
The information posted online include the venue, category, name of the organiser and type of admission. The whole file can also be downloaded on smartphones.
A number of posts will provide links to other portals such as Al Cinema. Some announcements of future activities can be seen on the lower right section of the website.
“We are trying to reach out in order to promote the country, hoping that more tourists and visitors will come to Qatar,” said al-Qurese.
He also pointed out that they would accept comments and suggestions in a bid to improve the entire platform. For the time being, they will allow organisers to post details of their events free of charge.
The new website can be viewed from today while the application is already available for free download. “This will certainly make it easier for people to participate in activities and also facilitate the promotion of these activities locally, regionally and internationally,” he added in a statement.
QTA mulled over numerous suggestions and ideas on what title to have and it finally decided to use OnQatar as “it encapsulates all, catchy and easy to remember”.
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