news: review: Qatar eyes 20% tourism growth in five...
Qatar eyes 20% tourism growth in five years
The Qatar Tourism Authority (QTA) is targeting a 20-per-cent growth for the Gulf state’s tourism industry, with particular focus on sectors such as meetings, sports, culture, leisure and education.
“Qatar is fast becoming one of the emerging destinations in the world travel, thanks to our strategy to highlight the range of activities on offer in Qatar. Qatar has everything a high-end traveler needs – stunning hotels, cultural icons and many leisure activities,” says Abdulla Malalla Al Bader, Director of Tourism at QTA.
The Qatari government has made significant investments to develop the country’s tourism infrastructure over a five-year period, including the construction of new hotels, resorts and other tourism facilities. Qatar is a hosting venue for many international sporting championships in tennis, golf, athletics and football. Plans are being put in place to build world-class stadiums for the 2022 Football World Cup.
As part of its aggressive campaign, QTA in May launched a six-city roadshow across the GCC in a bid to promote Qatar’s authentic heritage and rich history, while highlighting its focus on the developing infrastructure that will help support its business and leisure tourism sectors.
The GCC roadshow was held in Al Khobar, Riyadh, Kuwait, Muscat, Abu Dhabi and Dubai.
“The roadshow [aims] to promote Qatar as a premier business and upscale leisure destination to MICE (meetings, incentive, convention, exhibitions) professionals,” added Al Bader.
Qatar’s tourism push has resulted not only in the expansion of its hotel market, but also in the development of new facilities. The iconic Museum of Islamic Art, designed by I.M. Pei, has put Qatar’s capital city of Doha firmly on the cultural scene in the Middle East.
Other major projects scheduled to open in the near future include the Qatar National Convention Centre, which boasts 40,000 square metres of state-of-the-art exhibition space and the New Doha International Airport, which at completion will be able to handle 50 million passengers annually.
