Qatar Toy Festival welcomes over 75,000 visitors

Doha, The Gulf Observer: The Qatar Toy Festival welcomed more than 75,000 visitors as the first edition of the mega event concluded at the Doha Exhibition and Convention Centre (DECC) yesterday, organisers disclosed. A cake-cutting ceremony was held to close out the Festival attended by Qatar Tourism (QT) representatives and other entities.

The Festival, organised by Qatar Tourism in collaboration with Spacetoon TV, saw over 25 renowned international brands participate, including Barney, Barbie, Angry Birds, Sonic, and Transformers. The event brought the iconic characters closer to the kids with thrilling activities for parents. Held under the theme ‘Live the Tales and Enjoy the Games,’ the Festival lasted 25 days, providing ample time for families to partake in the fun.

Speaking to The Peninsula on the sidelines of the closing event, Director of Shared Services at Qatar Tourism Omar Abdulrahman Al Jaber said the organisers have received positive feedback from the over 1000 respondents, adding that the Festival will return next year.

“With the first edition of the Qatar Toy Festival, we got more than 75,000 visitors, mostly from families and kids. The satisfaction from the people is more than happy. Our plan for the next edition of the toy festival is to make it bigger and add more playgrounds for the kids and more activities,” Al Jaber said.

“There will be another edition for next year, which will be bigger with more games for kids. We will try adding more games and collaboration between parents and their kids. For this year, we had 25 brands which we got through the collaboration with the Spacetoon Channel, our partners. According to the review and visitors’ feedback, most were happy and excited about the event and would love to have it for longer. But for sure, for the next edition, we will try to make it last longer and ensure the kids enjoy a happy time.”

A parent, Mustapha Jaleel, said the Festival was a positive for many because it was held in the summer and as kids were on vacation.

“As a parent, this has been a great event for us because the kids have something to do now that they are on holiday. Usually, we would be on vacation during this period, but being in Qatar in the summer means you have to find activities for the kids, and the Festival has been helpful. We have visited around five times so far. My kids have enjoyed every visit, and as parents, we have also engaged in some fun games,” Jaleel said.

The Festival was held as part of QT’s ‘Feel Summer in Qatar’ campaign – an extension of its ‘Feel More in Qatar’ brand platform aimed at further establishing the country as the premier family destination in the Middle East.