VODAFONE AND QATAR NATIONAL TOURISM COUNCIL ESTABLISH PARTNERSHIP TO HARNESS BIG DATA TO DRIVE TOURISM SECTOR GROWTH

Vodafone Qatar and Qatar National Tourism Council (QNTC) have signed a Memorandum of Understanding for the implementation of Vodafone’s Big Data & Advanced Analytics solution, a partnership that will accelerate the country’s goal of being a world-class tourist destination.


A Memorandum of Understanding to confirm the new partnership was signed today between QNTC’s COO Berthold Trenkel, and Vodafone Qatar’s COO, Diego Camberos at QNTC’s HQ. It signifies the first time Vodafone Qatar has provided an external organisation with its own internal Big Data solution, tailored to their needs.

Berthold Trenkel, COO, QNTC, commented:

“Vodafone’s Big Data & Advanced Analytics solution will complement our own business intelligence platform, giving QNTC unique insights into tourists’ behaviour, including visitation patterns and trends by nationality and traveller type. Through this data, we can learn where visitors like to go, when, how long they spend at a particular site and their preferred itineraries. By harnessing such data, we can identify opportunities to improve the ways that we promote Qatar and its rich attractions–ultimately increasing visitor satisfaction and driving growth for the whole tourism sector.”

As the government entity responsible for strategic planning in the tourism sector, QNTC sought a partner that could provide deep insights into tourist behaviour. Vodafone’s tailored Big Data & Advanced Analytics solution is a clear choice for QNTC, due to its ability to deliver real-time, anonymised, aggregated data, in accordance with Qatar regulations and global best practices. The innovative platform works by analysing and aggregating vast amounts of telecommunications data based on user geolocation to extract value for businesses.

By integrating Vodafone Big Data & Analytics, QNTC will be able to segment tourist data with a level of detail previously unattainable, to understand the different types of tourists that visit Qatar and how they choose to enjoy their stay. The insights will help QNTC support tourist attractions and service providers – as they look to diversify and customise their offerings, not only to increase visitor numbers, but also to ensure guests have the best possible experience.

Diego Camberos, COO, Vodafone Qatar, said: “We are delighted that QNTC will be the first organisation to avail our Big Data & Advanced Analytics offering in Qatar. By sharing the technology and expertise in digital innovation that we have built up over a number of years, we can fast track delivering organisations’ needs in this area, which is far more cost-effective than having to build these technological tools on their own. This will be the first of many examples of how Vodafone Qatar can assist private and governmental entities to use the immense opportunities of Big Data to accelerate their digital transformation.”

As Qatar prepares to welcome millions of visitors for the FIFA World Cup 2022, Vodafone’s data analytics will enable QNTC to consolidate information on visitor arrivals, accommodation, events, attractions, transportation, and other key areas of the tourist experience. Prior to the pandemic, the sector recorded excellent growth, welcoming over 2 million visitors in 2019, with an estimated total contribution of 10.4% and an estimated direct contribution of 5.2% to Qatar’s non-oil-related GDP. Tourism has proven to be a valuable means of diversifying Qatar’s economy, building bridges with the wider world by sharing Qatar’s culture and heritage.