Qatar Tourism attended ILTM Cannes 2021 with a strong Qatari delegation, to profile the new tourism projects and luxury offerings in the country.
Qatar is becoming a leading destination as it expands its tourism proposition, in line with Qatar’s National Vision 2030. Its tourism strategy puts the visitor at the heart of all new programmes and initiatives. As part of the ‘Qatar Tourism Strategy 2030’, the country has added a variety of exciting experiences, including a wave of new luxury hotels, theme parks, shops, and major leisure projects, that have recently opened, or are set to open in the lead up to the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022TM.
Over 100 new hotels and serviced apartments are currently under construction which will add to Qatar’s already extensive portfolio of properties. Some of the new properties include a Raffles Hotel and Fairmont Hotel and Resort at Katara Towers, Rosewood Doha and the St. Regis Marsa Arabia Island. The hotels will broaden Qatar’s appeal to high-value travellers, offering more choice to its existing 80 five and four-star hotels.
With the aim of raising the tourism sector to 12% GBP by 2030, Qatar will grow and improve assets and attractions, enhance the end-to-end customer experience, invest in Service Excellence and deploy a tailored marketing strategy to target point-to-point (P2P) and stopover visitors.
Chief Operating Officer of Qatar Tourism, Berthold Trenkel, said: “We are continuing to expand our tourism offering and are excited to introduce guests to the best of Qatari hospitality. In 2019, we saw over two million visitors to Qatar and we hope to see similar growth trends now that we are welcoming visitors back to the country again.
“We are now less than one year until the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022TM, so now is the perfect time to visit Qatar. Qatar is an accessible introduction to the Middle East, blending cosmopolitan modernity and beautiful landscapes with Arabic traditions, cuisines, and cultures.We have a rich cultural heritage, luxury five-star hotels and resorts, incredible outdoor activities, beaches and museums and cultural landmarks, that are waiting to be discovered.”
Qatar will also welcome major tourism projects including Place Vendome, a shopping mall boasting 580 retail outlets, two five-star hotels and entertainment zones, West Bay North Beach project with six beaches, restaurants and outdoor activities and Qetaifan Island North, set to be the first entertainment island in Qatar with five star hotels and resorts, beach clubs and water parks.
Safe and seamless travel
A streamlined set of measures designed to make travelling to Qatar as easy as possible, while maintaining the necessary precautions to continue to protect against the spread of Covid-19, have been implemented. Qatar was ranked the third safest country in the world for its management and prevention of Covid-19 outbreaks by Global Finance in 2021 and has carried out a successful vaccination programme with over 85% of the population fully vaccinated as of December 6, 2021.
The ‘Qatar Clean’ programme, launched in partnership with The Ministry of Public Health, enforces the highest standards in hygiene and cleanliness, with rigorous procedures in place to ensure the safety of customers. With 100% of Qatar Tourism-licensed hotels ‘Qatar Clean’ certified, the programme is being expanded to restaurants and rolled out to other sectors including transport, retail, and culture. The measures include social distancing, frequent sanitisation of surfaces, and touchless payments, to ensure a safe experience in hotels, shopping malls, and the country’s health clubs and salons.
In addition, Qatar Airways was the first airline to be awarded a 5-Star Covid-19 Airport Safety Rating by Skytrax, alongside Hamad International Airport (HIA) as the first airport in the Middle East and Asia to be awarded the same 5-Star result. Hamad International Airport was also recently granted the ‘Best Airport in the World’ title at the Skytrax World Airport Awards 2021.
