Head of Communications at the Qatar Tourism Dr. Buthaina Mohammed Al Janahi said that the cruise industry grew in recent years that it now constitutes an essential element in the tourism strategy.
She said that thanks to its unique strategic location in the heart of the city, Doha Port provides visitors to Qatar with an excellent opportunity to enjoy and make the most out of their short time in Doha. Al Janahi added that the cruise tourism is receiving Qatar Tourism’s increasing attention, indicating that the 2022-2023 cruise season concluded with an increase of 151 percent in the number of visitors compared to the previous season, thanks to the establishment of a number of tourist attractions such as the West Bay beaches, Fuwairit Kite Beach Resort, and Al Maha Island.
In order to promote Qatar as a leading tourist destination, Al Janahi said that a number of global campaigns will be launched, the most recent of which is the “Feel More in Qatar” campaign.
Moreover, she noted Qatar’s facilitating its vi
sa policies, granting the citizens of 100 nationalities a visa on arrival, through the relaunch of the “Hayya” entry permit platform on which visitors can apply for entry permits.
Al Janahi said that various new hotels are currently being built, such as the Waldorf Astoria West Bay Hotel inaugurating in October, in addition to Sofitel Doha West Bay and Novotel Doha West Bay to open later this year, as well as the Qetaifan Islands, a new project on the shores of Lusail City, which will host three new 5-star hotels, two on Qetaifan Island North and one on Qetaifan Island South.
In order to provide training for workers in the tourism industry’s sectors of transport, food and beverage, and hospitality, Qatar Tourism launched the Service Excellence Academy. In fact, In the years 2022 and 2023, Qatar Tourism certified 34,100 employees who deal directly with visitors through its local “Qatar Host” tourism training program. Furthermore, Qatar Tourism offered 1,700 global partners tourism training through its “Qatar
Specialist Programme” program, introducing them to all the Qatar has to offer to tourists.
In order to widen its reach to residents, tourists, and partners, Qatar Tourism made the “Visit Qatar” application available in eight languages: Arabic, English, French, Chinese, Spanish, Italian, German, and Turkish. It also issued the “Qatar Now” guidebook, which is ideal for spending a vacation in Qatar.
According to Qatar Tourism figures, ever since the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022, Qatar received 2.56 million visitors until the end of August 2023, exceeding the total number of visitors during the entire year 2022, recording a 157 percent increase in international visitors compared to the same period last year.
The State of Qatar is proud to have a global awards-winning national carrier that connects Doha to more than 150 major global destinations across the six continents. Qatar Airways won the “Airline of the Year” by the international air transport rating organization, Skytrax, for an unprecedented seventh time.
As for Hamad International Airport, it has been ranked as the second-best airport in the world, along with winning titles for ‘World’s Best Airport Shopping’ and ‘Best Airport in the Middle East’ for the ninth time in a row.
Qatar enjoys excellent public transport networks, which played a prominent role in the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022, such as the Doha metro and Lusail tram which transported more than 18.2 million passengers smoothly, in addition to an advanced and safe road network connecting all parts of the country together, all factors leading to Doha being awarded the title of Arab Tourism Capital for 2023 by the Arab Ministerial Council for Tourism, among other prominent titles.
Source: Qatar News Agency