Officials at a press conference to unveil Shop Qatar, at Al Rayyan Hotel yesterday. Pic: Baher Amin/ The Peninsula
Doha: Aimed at enriching country’s tourism offering and positioning Qatar as a major shopping destination in the region, an all new “Shop Qatar” festival is set to begin here. The first edition of the festival, focusing on the retail sector in the country, will kick-off in January.
The month long event, under the slogan ‘A Brand New Tradition’, will offer discounts on popular brands, cash prizes worth up to QR4m, special offers on flights and hotel bookings, and a colourful schedule of entertainment activities.
The festival, which will be held from January 7 to February 7, 2017, was announced yesterday by Qatar Tourism Authority (QTA) and festival partners including, Mall of Qatar, Qatar Airways and Ezdan World.
Retail outlets around the country will be providing discounts of up to 50percent on a range of consumer goods including clothes, electronics, cosmetics and accessories for men, women and children. In addition to Mall of Qatar, Ezdan Mall, Hyatt Plaza, Al Khor Mall, Lagoona Mall, Gulf Mall, Landmark, Dar Al Salam Mall, The Gate and The Pearl-Qatar will also participate in the festival activities.
“Shop Qatar will shed light on Qatar’s rich offerings in retail sector, with luxury malls and high-end shopping promenades, and celebrate it with Qatar’s residents and visitors,” said Rashed Al Qurese, Chief Marketing and Promotion Officer at QTA.
“Figures from 2016 show that festivals are an important tourism product, especially as we have seen increases in visitor arrivals during the festival months. Qatar received largest number of visitors in March 2016 that coincided with the food festival. So we anticipate that a festival during the winter months has an even bigger chance of attracting visitors. Shop Qatar is also timed to fall within mid-year holidays for potential visitors in neighbouring countries,” he said.
Among the various other activities, the event will also feature local products designed by students of Virginia Commonwealth University in Qatar and other local designers.
Meanwhile, any flights to Qatar from within the GCC region booked on Qatar Airways for festival period will be available with a 25percent discount. In addition, Qatar Airways’ Privilege Club members will receive double Q-miles on their bookings during Shop Qatar. Visitors can also take advantage of a range of accommodation offers when booking through Expedia.com and Booking.com.
Shoppers who spend QR200 at participating outlets can enter a weekly raffle draw at Mall of Qatar for a chance to win cash prizes worth up to QR4 million. Draws will be held on the first three Fridays of the festival, with 15 cash prizes ranging from QR 10,000 to QR 300,000 to be won each week.
The draws will culminate in a mega-draw on the final day of the event where a jackpot prize of QR 1,000,000 will be up for grabs, in addition to 14 other cash prizes ranging from QR 20,000 to QR 120,000.
The event will also showcase, Cats, the longest-running show on Broadway, two concerts featuring Arab and Khaliji singers and the Doha Comedy Festival apart from in-mall entertainment and roaming mall shows.
Added to this, Ezdan World has joined in the festival with its Magical Festival Village, bringing in 400 shopping outlets, dozens of cafes and restaurants, theatrical plays and much more.
