Qatar Tourism has become an Official Tourism Partner of the Global Kitesports Association (GKA) Kite World Tour for three years, with a new world-class kite beach resort set to open in the northeast of the country later this year.
Qatar Airways also becomes theKite World Tour’s Title Partner and Official Airline, while Qatar Tourism will become title sponsor for events held in Qatar. The exciting partnership combines the skies and the seas to celebrate one of the fastest growing and most exhilarating new sports.
The announcement was made at the site of an upcoming state-of-the-art kite beach resort in Fuwairit. Fuwairit is a coastal village north of Doha with excellent kitesurfing conditions thanks to consistent winds, ideal ocean water and powder-soft sands that is set to open later this year.
Chairman of Qatar Tourism and Qatar Airways Group Chief Executive, His Excellency Mr. Akbar Al Baker, said: “Kitesurfing is a travel sport where adventure seekers compete in beautiful destinations across many continents around the world. At Qatar Airways, we are proud to support this growing sport and become the preferred airline for athletes and fans travelling to GKA events all around the globe including Qatar, our home country, to experience something new and exciting.”
Dr. Jörgen Vogt, Secretary General of the Global Kitesports Association, said: “There’s no better partner for the Kite World Tour than Qatar Airways, which shares our passion for travel, sustainability, exploration, creativity, adventure-seeking and competition. Qatar is quickly becoming the global heart of sport, and we are excited to bring our World Tour opening and Finals to this epicentre in 2023.”
The partnership is the latest milestone in Qatar’s journey to becoming a recognised leader for global sports tourism. Qatar has an ambitious strategy to welcome more than six million visitors a year by 2030. Hosting major events, such as the Formula 1 Grand Prix, the annual ATP and WTA tennis tournaments, along with the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022™, are central to this goal.
To kick off the new partnership, Qatar Airways will visit Tarifa, Spain, in June for the Qatar Airways Big Air World Championships. The 16-day event is the first of its kind in kite sports – and will include the Qatar Airways GKA Awards ceremony and the Visit Qatar Kite Expo.
The GKA’s mission is to develop kitesurfing and other kite sports by making them more accessible while bringing world-class competition to every corner of the world. This includes creating world championship events for freestyle, kitesurf, hydrofoil freestyle and big air disciplines. There are currently three million active kiters in the world, and that number is increasing quickly as more and more people discover the thrill of the sport.
